How?
Delegates will be split beforehand between the two chambers of the French Parliament, the Senate and the National Assembly. They will also be randomly assigned to a political party, whose interests they will be tasked with defending throughout the conference.
The conference will unfold over two and a half days, from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening. On Friday evening, the opening ceremony and a brief review of the proceedings will take place. The following day, delegates will be invited to debate in different committees, each dealing with a specific bill. However, a common theme between all bills will be defined beforehand, in order to ensure a certain unity among all delegates.
On Saturday night, one of these bills will be selected to be examined by both Chambers the following day. Sunday will be devoted to the “Séances plénières” (Plenary sessions): the bill will first be debated by the National Assembly and then examined by the Senate. In the event of a disagreement between both Chambers, a joint committee (Commission mixte paritaire) will be summoned to quickly draft final bill. This proposal will then be submitted to a final vote in both chambers.
When?
March 25, 26 and 27, 2022.
Why?
This conference is the perfect opportunity to put yourself in the shoes of a French senator or deputy for a weekend. You will have the opportunity to draft, debate and vote a law, make compromises with other members of Parliament while defending your party's convictions.
This experience will allow you to improve your knowledge of the French parliamentary institutions that influence our daily lives. It is also an opportunity to develop your debating and public speaking skills, either in English or French, thanks to the bilingual nature of the conference.
Where?
In Le Havre, in the Sciences Po buildings or in another conference centre.
By whom?
French and international students from Sciences Po Paris' Le Havre Campus (do not hesitate to check out our website page "L'Equipe").
For whom?
All students part of Campus Le Havre-Normandie and its institutions are invited to participate in the conference (such as l'ENSM, l'EM Normandie, Université du Havre Normandie, students in preparatory classes...). No prerequisite is necessary to participate in the conference, except for fluency in either French or English. Simultaneous translation from one language to the other will be provided on Sunday, to ensure smooth exchanges during the sessions.
On what basis?
Our teams are currently working on the production of "Conference rules" (Règlement de conférence), which will be available on our website soon. These rules, drafted in collaboration with the French National Assembly and the Senate, will contain detailed descriptions of the methods of debate, procedures and conduct of the sessions. These documents, together with additional video clips, will allow you to throughoutly prepare for the event.