Bicameralism allows, by the use of different types of suffrage, the representation
in different ways of the French people and the nation, bearing in mind
that article 24 of the Constitution lays down that the Senate "shall provide for
the representation of all the local authorities in the Republic"2
.
Each House has its own buildings and services. Services in common are
unusual. In physical terms the buildings of the two Houses are in different parts
of Paris, albeit not far apart: the National Assembly sits in the Palais Bourbon,
and the Senate sits in the Palais du Luxembourg.