Nursery in French Assembly upsets Macron’s female MPS

BABIES will soon be welcome at the French parliament in a move that has divided Emmanuel Macron’s party.

A new nursery is set to be opened, allowing MPS to bring their children to work after a record number of female members were voted in during last year’s election.

Of the National Assembly’s 577 MPS, 223 are female. Many are new to politics and balance family responsibilities with their parliamentary duties.

The plan to open the day care centre for about 40 children sparked a row within Mr Macron’s La République En Marche! party, with some of the most virulent opposition coming from women.

Aurore Bergé, 31, one MP, said: “MPS earn a good enough living to find their own childcare solutions.”

But François de Rugy, the parliamentary speaker, said the nursery was “justified” because of the massive influx of women into the assembly.

The nursery, which is due to open by January, will also cater for the children of MPS’ assistants and other parliamentary staff.

One possible location for the new facility is the Hotel de Broglie, an elegant 18th-century mansion that is being refurbished at a cost of nearly £20 million. The only problem, officials say, is that work will not be completed before 2022.

Whatever their views, many MPS will be relieved that an earlier proposal to convert the parliamentary bar into a nursery appears to have been dropped.