This paper will analyze French MPs’ and citizens’ perceptions on principles and practices of parliamentary representation, by comparing the answers given by 227 MPs in face-to-face interviews with the perceptions of ordinary citizens gathered during focus groups, between 2009 and 2011 during the LEGIPAR research coordinated by O. Costa. A factorial analysis and a classification analysis point up four main profiles of MPs: the trustee (among political “heirs” and “Parliament men” – Searing, 1994), the delegate, the party representative and a hybrid figure combining the two precedent ideal-types. Those profiles depend on MPs’ political leaning (which influences the strength of the link with the party or the constituency), and their resources: their political experience, the seniority as MP, the holding of several mandates as well as the political familial resources. Those results will be confronted to the complex and ambiguous expectations of citizens, between responsiveness and legitimate autonomy of political elites.
Key-words: citizenship, parliament, political participation, political parties, quantitative, representation
