![Sample our Politics & International Relations journals, sign in here to start your FREE access for 14 days]({"type":"image" , "src" : "/sda/5947/TOC-Subject-Sample-2021-Politics-International-Relations.jpg"})
ABSTRACT
This article examines how the French Senate engaged in legislative oversight of the military between 2015 and 2020. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with French parliamentarians, parliamentary staff, and serving and retired military leaders, the article argues that the French Senate performed “community policing” oversight of the military during this period. This community policing approach, which relies on mutual trust and cooperation between the principal and the agent, allowed senators to oversee the military and check the executive at relatively low cost, while giving military leaders a parliamentary ally in their disagreements with the President and Cabinet. The article examines what conditions enabled and encouraged the French Senate to perform this type of oversight, as well as what civil–military dynamics led the French military to view senators as allies in their policy disagreements with the President. The article finds that the 2015 terrorist attacks on French soil played an important role in establishing closer ties between the upper house and the armed forces, with the Senate securing additional capabilities for the armed forces during this time. The article concludes with avenues for future research focusing on upper houses and legislative oversight of the military.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Former Chiefs of the Defence Staff who are members of the Lords include Baron Boyce, Baron Walker of Aldringham, Barron Dannatt, and Baron Stirrup.
2 Baron West of Spithead served as First Sea Lord.
3 The importance of the lois de programmation militaire to Parliament’s oversight role was stressed by nearly all those interviewed from 2016 to 2020.
4 Interview with General Henri Bentegeat, Chief of the Defence Staff (2002–2006), 9 November 2016.
5 Interview with Senator Alain Néri, 8 November 2016; Interview with Marie Récalde, Socialist member of Parliament, 8 November 2016.
6 Interview with senior parliamentary official, 10 November 2016.
7 Interviews with Récalde.
8 Interview with Guy Chambefort, Socialist and affiliated group member of Parliament, 9 November 2016; Interview with senior parliamentary official.
9 Interview with Chambefort; Interview with Jean-François Lamour, Union pour un mouvement populaire member of Parliament, 9 November 2016.
10 Interview with Philippe Nauche, Socialist group member of Parliament, 10 November 2016.
11 Interviews with Réclade; Interview with Chambefort; Interview with Lamour.
12 Interview with Senator Jacques Gautier, 10 November 2016; Interview with Senator Daniel Reiner, 8 November 2016; Interview with senior parliamentary official; Interview with Senator Gilbert Roger, 18 February 2020.
13 Interview with General Denis Mercier, former Chief of the Air Staff (2012–2015) and NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (2015–2018), 18 February 2020.
14 Interview with Roger; Interview with Gautier Interview with.
15 These reports, it should be noted, represent only a small sampling of the Senate committee’s reporting on defence and military affairs between 2015 and 2020.
16 Interview with senior officer, office of the Chief of the Defence Staff, 18 February 2020.
17 Interviews with Roger, Gautier, Reiner.
18 This point was highlighted by one of the article’s reviewers.
19 Interview with Mercier.
20 Interview with Gautier; Interview with Reiner.
21 Interview with Mercier; Interview with senior officer, office of the Chief of the Defence Staff.
22 Several interviewees noted that this was an exceptional period of senatorial influence.
23 Interview with senior parliamentary official.
24 Interview with Lamour.
25 Interview with Mercier.
26 Interview with senior officer, office of the Chief of the Defence Staff.