The appointment of Ms. Gourault, 71, was given the green light by parliamentarians by 41 votes for, 31 against and four abstentions (29 for, 15 against among deputies, 12 for and 16 against among senators) in law commissions.
According to the Constitution, the appointments of the President of the Republic are subject to the opinion of the competent committees of the National Assembly and the Senate.
Only a negative vote of at least three-fifths of the votes cast in the two commissions could have derailed the presidential choice.
Minister since 2017, Ms. Gourault said she was "ready to make (her) transformation" at the dawn of entering the Constitutional Council for a period of nine years.
His appointment desired by Emmanuel Macron coupled with a lack of training in law were pinned down by some of the opposition.
The Council is "not a political cheese", criticized MP Eric Diard (LR).
"There is a subject of impartiality," said his LFI counterpart Ugo Bernalicis.
At the Palais Bourbon, the general tone of the debates was rather benevolent towards Mrs. Gourault who piloted the institutional projects of Corsica, Alsace or even the so-called "3DS" decentralization law.
"We are not here to pass an oral first year law degree", argued Guillaume Larrivé (LR).
For Philippe Bas (LR), during the hearing of the minister in the Senate with a right-wing majority, "the Constitutional Council does not only need lawyers but also needs personalities who know French society".
But under more polished exteriors, the hearing conducted by the senators was strewn with pitfalls, one or the other questioning him for example on past decisions or hypothetical developments of the Constitutional Council.
François-Noël Buffet (LR) ended the hearing by reminding the minister of the "duty of ingratitude" of the nominees towards those who had appointed them, a claim made by two former members of the "Sages", Georges Vedel and Robert Badinter.
The leader of the PS deputies, Valérie Rabault, judged that the score of Ms. Gourault, "reflecting her answers, should seriously question her" by recalling the previous scores of candidates for the President of the Republic (Jacques Mézard 29 for and 2 against or Laurent Fabius 38 for and 1 against).
The Senate has, moreover, validated the candidacy carried by President Gérard Larcher, that of François Séners by 20 votes for, one against, nine blank or null votes.
The National Assembly was to proceed to a similar vote on Wednesday afternoon for Véronique Malbec proposed by Richard Ferrand.
© 2022 AFP