Macron seeks to shrink French Parliament by a third

Paris, July 3 (IANS) French President Emmanuel Macron proposed on Monday to reduce the number of representatives in both of France's legislative chambers by a third.

Speaking at the historic Palace of Versailles, Macron said that the proposed move would produce a more efficient government and put France on a "radically new path", BBC reported.

The French President also insisted that he would end "legislative proliferation", meaning that Parliament would be focused on evaluating and controlling laws that have already been approved, rather than proposing new ones.

"I want... us to avoid half-measures and cosmetic arrangements," he said. "These reforms will be submitted to a vote in Parliament but if necessary I will have recourse to a vote by our fellow citizens in a referendum," he said.

The proposed cuts would reduce the number of National Assembly members from 577 to 385, and the numbers of Senate members from 348 to 232.

In his 90-minute speech, the 39-year-old leader vowed to return a "collective dignity" to France.

"In the past, procedures have taken preference over results, rules over initiative, living off the public purse over fairness," he said.

He announced that the electoral system would be changed to allow more proportional representation, so more voices would be heard at government level.

Macron also said that he will lift the country's state of emergency later this year.

France has been in a state of emergency since the Paris terror attack which killed 130 people in November 2015. Macron said it would be lifted "this autumn", but did not specify a date.