Center-Right Majority Preserved in French Senate, Far-Right Was Able to Form a Group for the First Time

According to the inconclusive results of the partial elections in which 178 of the 348 senators serving in the Senate, the upper house of the parliament in France, were renewed, many center-right politicians were re-elected as senators, while far-rightists increased the number of seats.

With the newly elected senators, the centre-right Republicans (LR) Party takes the lead in the new seat distribution in the Senate with 125 seats.

In the Senate, where the Centrist Unity Group (UC) from the centre-right movement has 57 senators, the Socialist Group led by the Socialist Party (PS) is the second most populous group with 63 seats.

In the Senate, the center-right Independents, Republic and Lands Group has 21 seats and the Group of Democrats, Progressives and Independents (RDPI), which includes French President Emmanuel Macron's party Renaissance, has 17 seats, while the Communist Group has 19 senators.

The European Democratic and Social Unity Group, the Environmentalists Group and the far-right National Rally (RN) Party have the same number of seats in the Senate, each represented by 14 senators.

Additionally, the results regarding the 4 seats in the Senate are not yet known.

The results of the partial Senate elections and the distribution of seats according to parties are expected to become clear in the coming hours.

THE CENTER-RIGHT MAINTAINS ITS MAJORITY IN THE SENATE

The center-rightists maintained their majority in the Senate with these elections, just like in the partial elections in September 2023.

Bruno Retailleau, LR Party's candidate in the presidential elections to be held in 2027, was re-elected as a senator in the Vendee province.

EXTREME RIGHT EXISTS WILL FOUND A GROUP IN THE SENATE FOR THE FIRST TIME

In France, far-rightists exceeded the 10 seats required to form a group in the Senate for the first time, thanks to the alliance they formed.

RN Party leader Jordan Bardella, in his statement on the US-based X account, announced that for the first time in its history, the RN Party will form a group in the Senate with its ally, the far-right Union of Rights for the Republic (UDR) Party.

Bardella stated that the group they will establish in the Senate will be the voice of the forgotten parts of the country and the mayors who are away from the big decisions taken in Paris.

RN Party's presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen, stated in her statement on her social media account that the results of the elections, which she described as a "historic victory" for their party, were beyond their expectations.

SOCIALISTS AND ENVIRONMENTALISTS MOSTLY COMPLIED WITH THE ELECTION AGREEMENTS

The majority of voters who are members of the PS and the environmentalist Greens (EELV) Party mostly adhered to the agreements reached between the two parties within the scope of the elections.

In the provinces where two-round elections were held, socialists and environmentalists supported the lists of the candidates who received the highest votes in the first round in the second round.

The leftist France Unyielding (LFI) Party, which is exempt from the agreements between these parties, did not withdraw its candidate lists in the provinces where it qualified for the second round.

THE DISPUTE BETWEEN THE TWO PARTIES MADE THE LEFTISTS LOSE A SEAT

Martha Pecina, nominated by the LFI Party to represent the French abroad, could not be elected as a senator with a difference of 3 votes.

LFI Party Coordinator Manuel Bompard, in his statement on the US-based X account regarding Pecina's defeat, stated that environmentalists' refusal to make a joint list between EELV and LFI parties caused the leftists to lose one seat to the rightists.

Bompard stated that Pecina needed 3 votes to win the seat he was running for, while the candidate of the EELV Party needed 20 votes for the same seat.

In the written statement made by the Green Party, it was noted that many environmentalists supported Pecina's list, and it was argued that this seat was given as a gift to the right-wingers after the LFI Party rejected the extended hand.

LFI PARTY WILL BE REPRESENTED IN THE SENATE FOR THE FIRST TIME

In the Rhone province, LFI's senatorial candidate Gabriel Amard was elected senator, and in Haute-Garonne, LFI's joint candidate Marc Pere, supported by environmentalists and leftists, was elected senator.

For the first time, two candidates supported by the LFI Party won seats in the Senate.

It is expected that the new president of the Senate will be determined in the elections to be held on October 1 in the upper house of the parliament. The president of the Senate is elected for 3 years.

PARTIAL SENATE ELECTIONS

In France, a senator is elected for 6 years, and with the system implemented, a section of the Senate is renewed every 3 years.

1686 candidates applied for the election to become senators for 6 years in the historical Luxembourg Palace in Paris.

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