Économie de la représentation nationale et rémunération des parlementaires français

In this contribution, we have gathered data on the French Parliament and the representatives in order to enhance our understanding of their different missions (law-making, representation and oversight activities). The analysis of data on the number, the characteristics and the activity of the representatives on the one hand and the analysis of the budgets? assemblies on the other hand display different features. First the representatives benefit from a generous pension system but their base salary has declined in real terms while other elements (such as expenditure allowances to cover expenses which arise in the course of their parliamentary activities) of their compensation package have increased on the contrary. Second, the French national assembly shows a great stability in terms of a weak representativeness and a long-lasting multiple-office holding practice. Finally the parliamentary activity has increased. These evolutions shed light on selection issues as well as incentive to work issues which matter for the functioning of representative democracies.