SPL International Students discovering the French Parliament
In addition to what they have been learning in class on French political history and legislative process, International Students enjoyed, on Friday March 24, visiting the Palais Bourbon, the seat of the National Assembly, the lower legislative chamber of the French Government.  

The National Assembly is France's principal representative institution and the most powerful of the legislative branches.

Its 577 members sit in the Palais Bourbon in Paris. Of these 577 representatives, 555 represent a roughly equal proportion of France proper - about 100,000 inhabitants.

The remaining 22 representatives represent overseas territories and dependencies like New Caledonia and French Polynesia.
The Assemblée Nationale is allowed to introduce its own legislation as well as to amend bills proffered by the government.

The visit was an opportunity to remind students the Assemblée Nationale is more powerful than the Sénat and that in case of disagreement over a certain clause in a law it is the Assemblée national that usually gets its way.