The inclusion of abortion in the Constitution passed its most delicate stage in Parliament on Wednesday February 28 with a largely favorable vote in the Senate. The constitutional revision, already adopted by an overwhelming majority by the National Assembly, received the support of 267 votes to 50 at the Luxembourg Palace, after more than three hours of sometimes agitated discussions in this usually very peaceful hemicycle.
Despite the reluctance of certain senators from the right and the center, the majority in the upper house, the chamber voted in favor of “guaranteed freedom” for voluntary termination of pregnancy, without modifying the government’s text. Emmanuel Macron, who welcomed “a decisive step” after the Senate vote, immediately convened the Congress of the two chambers of Parliament, which will meet in Versailles on Monday March 4, at 3:30 p.m.
A favorable vote expected in Congress
The Senate’s vote removed the last doubts surrounding the final adoption of this historic reform by all parliamentarians on Monday in the prestigious Congress Hall of the Palace of Versailles. In the National Assembly, 493 deputies approved the text. Counting the 267 senators who have done the same, Congress should therefore in theory approve the inclusion of abortion in the Constitution with approximately 200 votes more than the necessary three-fifths majority – 545 votes – necessary to allow constitutional revision. .
Four days before March 8, International Women’s Day, the date of March 4 will be very symbolic. Congress has only met twice since the head of state came to power: in 2017 and 2018, each time in July. The President of the Republic had set out the broad outlines of his policy before the national representation. The last constitutional revision dates back to 2008.
The Sealing Ceremony
After the favorable vote expected on Monday, the Constitution will therefore be modified. A sealing ceremony should then be held next week at the chancellery, in the presence of the Head of State and Eric Dupond-Moretti. The Ministers of Justice have in fact the title of Keeper of the Seals.
Rachida Dati is the last Minister of Justice to have sealed a constitutional amendment. This was on the occasion of Constitutional Law No. 2008-724 of July 23, 2008 on the modernization of the institutions of the Fifth Republic. “Using this press like illustrious predecessors was a great moment of emotion, remembers with from the Parisian the current Minister of Culture. Having my signature placed alongside that of Michel Debré (Editor’s note: the father of the Fifth Republic) was an intense moment, made possible by his commitment to his country.”
The imposing sealing press sits in the office of the Minister of Justice, Place Vendôme in Paris. Its function is to authenticate major texts, such as the Constitution and its modifications. The machine, which resembles a monumental screw, is used to affix the yellow wax seal of the French Republic to the bottom of the document to be marked and to attach a tricolor silk ribbon to it. As indicated The Parisianafter the historic vote in the Senate, Eric Dupond-Moretti checked to see if the sealing press was working well and if the mechanisms were not seized up over time.