New constitution passed by one vote

SOCIALIST JACK LANG BRANDED TRAITOR AS HE VOTES WITH GOVERNMENT TO PASS BILL HE HELPED TO WRITE. A new constitution giving the president the right to address both houses of parliament has

been passed by one vote. The three-fifths majority needed to pass constitutional laws was reached by one vote after socialist, green and left-wing opposition parties vowed to defeat it.

Socialist MP Jack Lang, who helped draw up the bill, publicly declared he would vote for it, despite party opposition. Former socialist presidential candidate Ségolène Royal, who is not an

MP and could not vote, said his ballot was ‘treason’. Opposition MPs claim the clause giving the president the right to address parliament, breaks the separation of powers in the

constitution creating a ‘monocracy’. President Sarkozy, who is on a visit to Ireland, said: “I want to thank the radicals from the left and personalities of the left who gave their support

to this reform.” Sarkozy has argued that his reform of the constitution, brought in by president Charles de Gaulle in 1958, grants more weight to France's weak parliament. He said the

changes, part of his election manifesto, would make the head of state more accountable to lawmakers and to the public. THE KEY POINTS: - The president will be allowed to defend his policies

before both houses of parliament meeting in a so-called congress. This was previously forbidden due to the separation of executive and legislative powers. - The presidency will be limited to

two consecutive five-year terms - The president will lose his right to exercise collective pardons. (A power Sarkozy had already refused to exercise). - France's regional languages are

recognised as belonging to the nation's cultural heritage. - Parliament has a veto over the head of state's most important nominations. - The reform restricts the use of the

controversial article 49-3 which allows the government to push through laws by decree. - When the president sends armed forces overseas he must inform parliament within three days. Beyond

four months the extension must be authorised by a parliamentary vote. - A referendum can be organised at the initiative of a fifth of members of parliament, backed by one tenth of voters. -

French citizens will be able to apply to the Constitutional Council directly to challenge a law. Photo:Afp