In May 2014, French consular elections were held to allow French citizens residing abroad to elect their delegates and consular advisors for the first time. These elections were conducted online from 14 May to 20 May, followed by in-person voting on 24 and 25 May. [1] A total of 68 delegates and 443 consular advisors were elected. [2]
These elections were the outcome of the law passed on July 22, 2013, which reformed the representation of French citizens living abroad. [3] This law followed the election of some advisors since 1982 to the Assembly of French Citizens Abroad. These bodies also included appointed members as "qualified personalities" and ex officio members.
Consular advisors serve on consular councils at each embassy and consular post. They can offer opinions on matters concerning French citizens living abroad. Consular delegates, elected simultaneously with the advisors, help balance population disparities between districts. Together with consular advisors, senators, and deputies representing French citizens abroad, they form the electoral college responsible for electing senators representing French citizens abroad. [4]
Additionally, consular advisors elect 90 of their members to sit in the Assembly of French Citizens Abroad. [5]
The 443 consular advisors are elected by direct universal suffrage in each consular district, with the number of advisors per district ranging from 1 to 9 based on the number of registered French citizens in the district. They are elected for a six-year term. [2]
The National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate. The National Assembly's legislators are known as députés, meaning "delegate" or "envoy" in English; etymologically, it is a cognate of the English word deputy, the standard term for legislators in many parliamentary systems.
France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with a bicameral legislature. Public officials in the legislative and executive branches are either elected by the citizens or appointed by elected officials. Referenda may also be called to consult the French citizenry directly on a particular question, especially one which concerns amendment to the Constitution.
French of the World – Democratic Association of French Abroad, sometimes abbreviated as FdM–ADFE, is a French organisation representing French people living outside France with a worldwide presence. It was established in 1980.
Plumieux is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. On 1 January 2025, the former commune of Le Cambout and Coëtlogon were merged into Plumieux.
The Consulate General of France in San Francisco is a consular representation of the French Republic in the United States. Its jurisdiction covers Northern California, northern Nevada, and the following states: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and the Pacific Islands under American jurisdiction. The consulate is currently located near the French quarter of San Francisco, on 44 Montgomery Street.
The Assembly of French Citizens Abroad is the political body that represents French citizens living outside France. The assembly advises the government on issues involving French nationals living outside France, as well as the role of France in overseas developments. Membership consists of 90 representatives elected among and by an electorate composed of all 442 elected consular representatives, across 15 worldwide electoral districts.
Legislative constituencies for French people domiciled outside France are eleven constituencies, returning one member each to the French National Assembly, elected by French people living outside France. As of 2024, the constituencies represent almost 1.7 million French voters in total.
The first French legislative constituency for citizens abroad is one of eleven constituencies representing French people living outside France. It was created by the 2010 redistricting of French legislative constituencies and elects, since 2012, one representative to the National Assembly.
The second constituency for French residents overseas is one of eleven constituencies representing French citizens living abroad. It was created by the 2010 redistricting of French legislative constituencies and elects, since 2012, one representative to the National Assembly.
The third constituency for French residents overseas is one of eleven constituencies representing French citizens living abroad. It was created by the 2010 redistricting of French legislative constituencies and elects, since 2012, one representative to the National Assembly.
The Eighth French legislative constituency for citizens abroad is one of eleven constituencies each electing one representative of French people living outside France to the French National Assembly.
Jonathan-Simon Sellem is a French-Israeli journalist, writer, and politician born on February 25, 1983. He now lives in Israel since 2006 and he obtained dual nationality French-Israeli the same year. He is the founder of the news website JSSNews. He was elected as "conseiller consulaire" - official representative of French citizen in Israel - in 2014 and advisor of Ron Huldaï, Mayor of Tel-Aviv, in October 2018.
The Consulate General of France in Cape Town is a consular representation of the French Republic in South Africa. The consular district includes the three Cape provinces, Prince Edward Islands and the British territory of Saint Helena. Three honorary Consuls, in Port Elizabeth, East London and Saint Helena depend on the Consulate of Cape Town. People living in Lesotho or in one in the six other South African provinces depend on the French Consulate General of Johannesburg.
The Consulate General is currently located on 78 Queen Victoria Street.
Hélène Conway-Mouret is a French academic and politician of the Socialist Party (PS) who has been serving as a member of the Senate since 2014, representing the constituency of French citizens living abroad.
Senators in France are elected by indirect universal suffrage, by a panel of "electors". Half of the Senate seats are up for election every three years; the term of office is six years.
The French Commission on renewal and ethics in public life, nicknamed Jospin commission, was a think tank established in 2012 by President François Hollande to provide reforms in public life.
Assembly elections were held for the Assembly of French Citizens Abroad between 21 and 30 May 2021. French people living outside France were called upon to elect, for the second time, 442 advisers to French people living abroad and 68 consular delegates. Initially scheduled for May 2020, the elections were postponed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
French people living outside France are French citizens living outside the current territory of the French Republic.
Christopher Weissberg is a French politician who served as a member of the National Assembly for the First French legislative constituency for citizens abroad, which covers North America, from 2022 to 2024. As the substitute of Roland Lescure, he replaced him while he held positions in the Borne and Attal governments.