The status of a deputy

A deputy represents the nation and votes on laws. Their status grants protections and imposes obligations, designed to guarantee their independence — not as a privilege, but as a condition of the mandate.

Parliamentary immunity

Irresponsibility

A deputy cannot be prosecuted for opinions or votes expressed while exercising their functions — floor speeches, votes, bills, amendments, reports. This protection is permanent and absolute: it survives even after the mandate ends. It doesn't cover internal disciplinary rules for session conduct.

Inviolability

Since a 1995 reform, a deputy can be charged, but cannot be arrested or subjected to a liberty-restricting measure without the Assembly Bureau's authorization — except for a flagrant offense or a final conviction. This protection lasts only for the duration of the mandate.

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Incompatibilities

  • A deputy cannot hold their mandate alongside a Senate seat, a European Parliament seat, or a local executive role (mayor, regional or departmental council president).
  • The mandate is incompatible with most civil-service roles and with government missions lasting more than six months.
  • A deputy cannot direct a company receiving public subsidies, nor represent private interests against the State.

Non-compliance can lead the Constitutional Council to declare a mandatory resignation, plus ineligibility.

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Transparency obligations

Within two months of taking office, a deputy must file a complete wealth declaration with the Haute Autorité pour la transparence de la vie publique (HATVP), renewed six to seven months before the mandate ends. They must also declare their professional activities and interests, and those of their spouse. Non-compliance can lead to a fine, imprisonment, and a mandatory resignation.

These declarations, when published, are what this site cites on every official's profile.

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Extra-parliamentary bodies

A deputy (or senator) can also sit on bodies outside Parliament itself — governance instances where the legislature is represented by law. Since a July 2017 reform and a 2018 law, seats are distributed based on political groups' proposals, weighted by their size in the Assembly, rather than by discretionary appointment.

This site doesn't yet list individual memberships in these bodies — a possible future addition to mandate tracking.

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See a deputy's compensation and resources →