... Wright, 2001 p.134). From 1918 the parliament went into progressive decline due to the impact of foreign and colonial wars, the military occupation, the increasingly complicated legislation and the onset of more organised pressure groups (taken from Knapp, Wright, 2001 p.134). These factors meant that the National Assembly was forced to concede some powers to the executive. However, it was not till 1958 and the onset of the Fifth Republic under de Gaulle that the National Assembly became very weak and subordinate to the executive. This was particularly the case under the Gaullist presidents until 1974. From a historical point of view it is clear that Parliament has lost a lot of power. But to answer the question whether the parliament has become powerless we also need to look comparatively at the Parliaments powers when compared to that of other countries and look at the reasons behind the Parliaments loss ...

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