Partial Senate Elections Started in France

Voting for the partial Senate elections in France will start at 08.30 local time and will end at 17.30.

In these elections, 178 of the 348 senators serving in the Senate will be re-elected.

1686 candidates applied for the elections to serve for 6 years in the historical Luxembourg Palace in Paris. A former minister and 33 members of parliament are among the candidates.

The results of these elections, in which senators representing French people living in 63 provinces in the country and abroad will be determined, will begin to be announced as the ballot boxes are opened and the votes are counted.

In the country where deputies are elected by the public, only the "big voters", consisting of the "elected ones", can vote in the Senate elections.

These people consist of those elected in the electoral district where senatorial candidates compete. Among them are parliamentarians and members of regional, provincial and municipal councils.

While there are approximately 162 thousand "big voters" in France, 93 thousand 469 of them will vote in the partial elections held today. Each major voter can vote only in the province to which he or she belongs.

The partial Senate elections are the last national elections planned before the presidential elections to be held in 2027.

In France, the upper house of the parliament is the Senate and the lower house is the National Assembly.

General elections in which members of parliament are elected are held every 5 years in France.

Part of the Senate is renewed in partial elections held every 3 years.

In the country where the age to be elected as a member of parliament is 18, those who want to become a senator must be at least 24 years old.

Unlike general elections, voting in Senate elections is compulsory, and there is a fine of 100 euros for elected officials who fail to do so.