The French cabinet on Wednesday approved a reform bill that would set a two-term limit for presidents and allow the head of state to appear before parliament for the first time in 135 years.
Drawn up by a committee chaired by former prime minister Edouard Balladur, the institutional reform bill also considerably boosts the powers of the French parliament and aims to set a maximum number of government ministers.
Since 1873, the French president has been barred from appearing in person before the lower house National Assembly or the Senate. President Nicolas Sarkozy championed a reform of the law, which would mark one of the biggest changes to the 1958 French constitution, to make the president more accountable to lawmakers and the public. But the left-wing opposition has argued against the change, saying it would undermine the separation of legislative and executive powers.
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