The ambitious draft "law for faith in our political life" bans ministers, MPs and senators from employing family members. Currently around a fifth of French MPs do so.

These politicians will in future be limited to three mandates in the same post and have to declare all their expenses, which will be vetted by an as yet undefined auditing body. Until now, French MPs have been simply allowed to take home a monthly expenses allowance of €5,770 (£5019).

The bill also intends to do away with Court of Justice of the Republic, a tribunal to try ex-ministers considered unwieldy, and ban former French presidents from being members of the Constitutional Council, the country's highest constitutional court.