French Senate approves shorter presidency

The upper house of the French parliament, the Senate, has approved a bill to reduce the term in office of a future president from seven to five years.

The vote paves the way for a referendum on the biggest change in the way France is governed in nearly forty years.

The Senate passed the bill by an overwhelming majority; last week the National Assembly also passed it with a big majority.

The change became a realistic objective when President Chirac abandoned his opposition to it earlier this month, arguing it was needed to modernise French political life. Opinion polls suggest about three-quarters of the public support a cut in the seven-year term -- although correspondents say a referendum, now expected in September or October, may have to contend with a low turn-out and a high-profile "No" campaign from the right wing.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service