The loi-cadre (Reform Act) was a French legal reform passed by the French National Assembly on 23 June 1956, named after Overseas minister Gaston Defferre. It marked a turning point in relations between France and its overseas empire. Under pressure from independence movements in the colonies, the government transferred a number of powers from Paris to elected territorial governments in French African colonies and also removed remaining voting inequalities by implementing universal suffrage and abolishing the multiple electoral college system. It was the first step in the creation of the French Community, comparable to the British Commonwealth of Nations. Most French African colonies held elections under the new universal suffrage Loi Cadre system on 31 March 1957, the exceptions being Cameroon which held its election on 23 December 1956, and Togo which held its election on 17 April 1958. (Cameroon and Togo were United Nations trust territories and so were on a different trajectory than the rest of French Africa).

The National Assembly (French: Assemblée nationale; pronounced [asɑ̃ble nɑsjɔnal]) is the lower house of the bicameral French Parliament under the Fifth Republic, the upper house being the Senate (Sénat). The National Assembly's legislators are known as députés (French pronunciation: ​[depyˈte]; "delegate" or "envoy" in English; the word is an etymological cognate of the English word "deputy", which is the standard term for legislators in many parliamentary systems).

There are 577 députés, each elected by a single-member constituency (at least one per department) through a two-round voting system. Thus, 289 seats are required for a majority. The President of the National Assembly, currently Richard Ferrand, presides over the body. The officeholder is usually a member of the largest party represented, assisted by vice presidents from across the represented political spectrum. The National Assembly's term is five years; however, the President of the Republic may dissolve the Assembly (thereby calling for new elections) unless it has been dissolved in the preceding twelve months. This measure has become rarer since the 2000 referendum reduced the presidential term from seven to five years: since 2002, the President of the Republic has always had a majority elected in the Assembly two months after the presidential election. It would accordingly be of little benefit to dissolve it. Due to the separation of powers, the President of the Republic may not take part in parliamentary debates. They can however address the Congress of the French Parliament, which meets at the Palace of Versailles, or have the address read by the presidents of both chambers of Parliament, with no subsequent debate.

Following a tradition started by the first National Assembly during the French Revolution, the "left-wing" parties sit to the left as seen from the president's seat and the "right-wing" parties to the right; the seating arrangement thus directly indicates the political spectrum as represented in the Assembly. The official seat of the National Assembly is the Palais Bourbon on the Rive Gauche of the Seine in the 7th arrondissement of Paris. The Assembly also uses other neighbouring buildings, including the Immeuble Chaban-Delmas on the Rue de l'Université. The National Assembly, as well as most institutions of importance in Paris, is guarded by Republican Guards.