France's National Rally makes historic gains in Senate vote

France's far-right National Rally (RN) party and its allies made significant gains in Sunday's indirect Senate elections, securing a record 14 seats in the 348-member, right-leaning upper chamber. The result roughly quadruples the party's previous Senate presence and marks the first time RN has surpassed the 10-seat threshold needed to form an official parliamentary group.

RN's presidential candidate, Marine Le Pen, described the outcome as a "historic victory" following the announcement of results. Senators are chosen indirectly: local elected officials vote every three years to renew half of the chamber's seats, with each term lasting six years.

The party, then called the National Front, first entered the Senate in 2014 with two seats, followed by three seats won in 2023. On Sunday, nine additional RN senators were elected, joining the three already in place. Two more seats went to the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR), a party led by RN ally Eric Ciotti.

Alliance and wider context

RN president Jordan Bardella said the newly elected senators would join with UDR allies to form a single parliamentary group. Ciotti left the centre-right Les Républicains (LR) party in 2024 after pushing for a formal alliance with the far right.

Gerard Larcher, the 77-year-old LR figure who has led the Senate for more than a decade, is expected to be re-elected to the presidency of the chamber next week.

The Senate result comes as Le Pen positions herself for what could be her strongest bid yet for the presidency next year, when centrist President Emmanuel Macron reaches the end of his second and final term. RN already emerged as the largest single party in the National Assembly after Macron's 2024 snap election call, though it fell short of a majority and trailed the left-wing New Popular Front alliance.