Legislatives 2022: Browse the rules set by Arcom and the statements of speaking time

Published on 06 May 2022

  • Plurality
  • Television
  • Radio
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The French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication, Arcom, is responsible for ensuring that radio and television stations abide by the provisions of the French law of September 30, 1986, in particular those relating to political plurality.

Legislative elections are held to elect the 577 members of the French National Assembly. Seats are distributed as follows:

  • 558 for the départements,
  • 8 for New Caledonia and overseas France,
  • 11 for the French abroad.

A member of parliament represents both his or her constituency and the nation as a whole. MNAs vote on legislation and oversee government action. To find out more about the role of the French National Assembly, follow this link.

The next legislative elections will take place :

  • in mainland France on Sundays June 12 and 19, 2022 ;
  • French Polynesia: June 4 and 18, 2022;
  • America and Caribbean zone: June 4 and 18, 2022;
  • rest of the world: June 5 and 19, 2022;
  • Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, St-Barthélémy, St-Martin, St-Pierre-et-Miquelon:
    June 11 and 18, 2022.

Deputies are elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term. The voting system is a two-round, first-past-the-post system. A candidate can be elected in the first round if he or she obtains an absolute majority of the votes cast and a number of votes equal to at least one-quarter of the registered voters in the constituency. In the second round, a relative majority is sufficient. In the event of a tie, the oldest candidate is elected.

Electoral districts are delimited by the Electoral Code within each département, according to population size. Each département contains at least one constituency. There are as many constituencies as there are seats in the French National Assembly (577). You can find your constituency by following this link.

The rules laid down by Arcom

Ensuring respect for political plurality is one of the key missions entrusted to the French regulatory authority for audiovisual and digital communication (Arcom) by the legislator. Both during and outside election periods,Arcom constantly monitors audiovisual service editors' compliance with plurality in the expression of currents of thought and opinion.

Protecting political plurality

Arcom's notice for the 2022 legislative elections

On March 30, 2022, Arcom adopted a notice concerning the legislative elections (available below for downloading), which supplements its deliberation of January 4, 2011.

This notice applies to all radio and television services, whatever their broadcasting method by any electronic communication process, from Monday May 2, 2022 until the day on which the election is won. All providers of radio and TV services, with the exception of Arte and parliamentary channels, are required to comply with the rules laid down by Arcom.

This applies to all broadcasts (news programmes, news magazines and other news programmes).

It does not apply to services which, exclusively accessible via online public communications, are devoted to the electoral propaganda of candidates or the political parties and groupings which support them.

Arcom's notice of March 30, 2022 to radio and television services concerning the legislative elections of June 12 and 19, 2022

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Legislative elections 2022: fairness rule for speaking time

Audiovisual media must comply with the fairness rule for speaking time in the 2022 parliamentary elections. TV channels and radio stations count the speaking time of candidates and their supporters, and grant speaking time that corresponds to their representativeness. The rule of equity in speaking time ensures respect for political plurality in the audiovisual media.

If the subject under discussion concerns a national issue, each political figure is given more or less speaking time, depending on :

  • the number of elected representatives in their party;
  • recent election results;
  • recent polls ;
  • or their contribution to electoral debate.

If the subject dealt with concerns a local issue, the channel or station must ensure that other candidates or their supporters have fair presentation and access to the airwaves. Their representativeness is calculated on the basis of :

  • recent legislative results ;
  • recent elections ;
  • opinion polls;
  • their contribution to the electoral debate.

Transmission and publication of speaking time records

Television and radio broadcasters transmit electronically to Arcom the breakdown of speaking times for candidates, political parties and groupings and their supporters as recorded in their programs.

The data will be transmitted on the following dates:

Legislative elections 2022: Transmission periods

Period

Period recorded

Transmission dates

1st round of voting

May 2 to 13

May 16

May 2 to 27

May 30th

May 2 to June 3

In French Polynesia May 2 to June 2

June 6th

May 2 to June 10

In Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon May 2 to June 9

June 13th

2nd round of voting

June 13 to 17

In French Polynesia June 5 to 16

In Guadeloupe, French Guiana, Martinique, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint-Martin, Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon June 12 to 16

June 20th

Speaking time records

Television: general-interest channels

Television: news channels

Radios

ACCESS RAW SPEAKING TIME DATA

In the interests of transparency, and to facilitate the reuse of raw data collected from TV channels and radio stations, Arcom invites you to download, in a single file, all the statements of speaking times for candidates and their supporters on all services.

To access the raw speaking time data, follow this link.

Campaign clips: dates and running order

Arcom drew lots at its headquarters, in the presence of representatives duly authorized by the political parties or groupings, to fix the dates and running order of election campaign broadcasts.

Arcom decision on production, programming and diffusion conditions
Arcom decision setting the duration and number of audiovisual campaign programs
Arcom decision setting dates and running order for official campaign broadcasts

Fight agains information manipulation

The major content-sharing platforms have acquired a major role in democratic processes. It is now essential for them to provide evidence of the measures they are taking to fight agains information manipulation, particularly during major electoral events.

Arcom's mission is to contribute to the fight agains information manipulation. To this end, it has drawn up a list of the means put in place by platforms in the run-up to the 2022 French parliamentary elections.

Accessibility of election programs

Arcom promotes inclusion and the active participation of all citizens in the democratic process. To this end, channels make their programs accessible, particularly to people with hearing or visual impairments.

In the case of programmes devoted to election news and shown at peak times, the main national channels must provide access (by subtitling or sign language) for deaf or hard-of-hearing people. Other television service editors are required to promote access, by subtitling or sign language, for the deaf or hard-of-hearing to the main programs devoted to electoral news at peak times, and in particular to make accessible the broadcasting of debates organized between candidates.