Parliamentary Control of the Budget in France: Implications of “New Financial Constitution”…
Parliamentary Control of the Budget in France: Implications of “New Financial Constitution”…

Summary/Abstract: The paper analyses a substantive reform of the budget control framework in France enabled through the adoption of La loi organique relative aux lois de finances (LOLF) in 2001, so-called new French “Financial Constitution”.1 The focus of the paper is on the increasing role of the Parliament in holding the Government to account for the stewardship of public money and improving the transparency of expenditure allocation. Under the new legal framework, MPs are given the right to make amendments to a modernised, programme budget framework and are provided with much better information on the overall economic, social and financial situation in the country at the time the budget is discussed. The LOLF also provides the Finance Committees of both Assemblies of the Parliament greater investigative and hearing powers. Whereas the first signs of the LOLF implementation have been encouraging, especially regarding the Parliamentary power over the budget approval, it still remains to be seen whether the Parliament would have sufficient strength and capacity to effectively keep the executive to account after the money is spent. In this sense, the author argues for improvement of the relations between the Parliament and the Cour des Comptes and for strengthening of the role of Mission d’Evalution et de Controle (MEC), as newly established subcommittee of the French Parliament Finance Committee, which should play an increasingly important part in holding the Government to account for the French taxpayers money.

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