France's National Assembly today approved an amended bill to reverse the 2002 election calendar, giving Socialist Prime Minister Lionel Jospin an important boost in his expected bid for the presidency.
The vote cleared the final hurdle for a plan to hold the 2002 presidential poll before voters pick a new parliament, instead of afterwards, to become law.
The bill was sent back to the Assembly for a second reading following the objections of the Senate. Like all French laws which affect the constitution, it will automatically be reviewed by the constitutional council which could raise objections.
Both government and opposition ranks split in the vote.
Some deputies from the opposition Union for French Democracy (UDF) joined Mr Jospin's Socialists in support of the plan.
President Jacques Chirac's Rally for the Republic (RPR) party voted against, as did Mr Jospin's Communist and Green allies, who denounced it as a bid to strengthen the presidency at the expense of the National Assembly.
The law garnered a total of 308 votes in favour and 251 against.
The current calendar, which foresees parliamentary polls in March and the presidential vote in May, goes against the logic of France's Fifth Republic in which the directly-elected presidency is the most important office in the land.
Presidential polls normally precede legislative elections, but Mr Chirac's decision to dissolve the National Assembly in 1997 - a move that backfired and brought Mr Jospin to power - upset the traditional rhythm.
Conservatives opposing the switch expect to win a majority in the 2002 parliamentary elections because the far-right National Front, which in the past split the right-wing vote and allowed leftists to win, has since collapsed in feuding.