French far-right party scores 'historic victory' in Senate elections
France's far-right National Rally party won enough Senate seats on September 27 to form a parliamentary group in the upper chamber for the first time in its history. Former party leader Marine Le Pen hailed the result as a 'historic victory'.
In France's Senate elections held on September 27, the far-right National Rally party and its allies secured 14 out of 348 seats, surpassing for the first time in the party's history the 10-seat threshold required to form a parliamentary group in the upper house, France 24 reported.
Following the announcement of results, former party leader and presidential candidate Marine Le Pen described the outcome as a "historic victory."
How the vote unfolded
On Sunday, September 27, elections were held in half of France's departments to fill 178 of the Senate's 348 seats. This was the last vote in France before the presidential election scheduled for spring 2027.
Senators are not elected directly by citizens in a nationwide vote but by an electoral college of more than 93,000 people, mostly municipal councilors. Voting took place in 58 mainland French departments, two departments of Corsica, French Guiana, and four overseas territories. Six seats representing French citizens living abroad were also up for re-election.
Before this vote, the conservative Republicans party dominated the upper house with 131 seats, while President Emmanuel Macron's Renaissance party held 19 seats and National Rally had just 3.
Half of the Senate is renewed every three years through indirect voting, with senators serving six-year terms.
Polls ahead of the 2027 presidential election show National Rally's informal leader Marine Le Pen holding a significant lead over her rivals.
