France's far right has won enough seats in the country's indirect Senate elections to form its own parliamentary caucus for the first time, party leaders said on Sunday, clearing the 10-seat threshold in the upper chamber.
Marine Le Pen, the National Rally leader and presidential candidate, said the results of the September 27 election had surpassed expectations. “The results have exceeded our expectations,” Le Pen wrote in a post on X, hailing a breakthrough in a chamber where the far right had never previously secured formal group status.
Of the 348 seats in the Senate, 178 were up for grabs in Sunday's indirect ballot, in which senators are elected by lawmakers in the National Assembly and local elected representatives. The party did not say how many seats it had won, though preliminary results reported by AFP put its total at 14.
Why it matters
Forming a caucus gives the National Rally meaningful new powers in the upper chamber: group leaders are able to request votes and play a larger role in shaping the Senate's agenda. The result comes as France prepares for a two-round presidential election in the spring of 2027, in which opinion polls show the far right leading the first round.
Le Pen is seeking to win the presidency next spring, but previous attempts by the far right to capture the country's highest elected office have repeatedly been blocked.
The bigger picture
The results do not overturn the Senate's right-and-centre majority. The conservative Les Républicains retained their dominance in the chamber, where they held 131 seats before the vote, while the Socialist group held 64. Senate president Gérard Larcher is poised to be confirmed for another term, with the chamber's traditional leadership expected to remain in place.
Still, the breakthrough marks a symbolic milestone for the National Rally, extending its presence into a chamber that had long resisted it — and giving it a stronger platform from which to build toward 2027.
Sources: Reuters; Archysport (AFP preliminary results)
Marine Le Pen, the National Rally leader and presidential candidate, said the results of the September 27 election had surpassed expectations. “The results have exceeded our expectations,” Le Pen wrote in a post on X, hailing a breakthrough in a chamber where the far right had never previously secured formal group status.
Of the 348 seats in the Senate, 178 were up for grabs in Sunday's indirect ballot, in which senators are elected by lawmakers in the National Assembly and local elected representatives. The party did not say how many seats it had won, though preliminary results reported by AFP put its total at 14.
Why it matters
Forming a caucus gives the National Rally meaningful new powers in the upper chamber: group leaders are able to request votes and play a larger role in shaping the Senate's agenda. The result comes as France prepares for a two-round presidential election in the spring of 2027, in which opinion polls show the far right leading the first round.
Le Pen is seeking to win the presidency next spring, but previous attempts by the far right to capture the country's highest elected office have repeatedly been blocked.
The bigger picture
The results do not overturn the Senate's right-and-centre majority. The conservative Les Républicains retained their dominance in the chamber, where they held 131 seats before the vote, while the Socialist group held 64. Senate president Gérard Larcher is poised to be confirmed for another term, with the chamber's traditional leadership expected to remain in place.
Still, the breakthrough marks a symbolic milestone for the National Rally, extending its presence into a chamber that had long resisted it — and giving it a stronger platform from which to build toward 2027.
Sources: Reuters; Archysport (AFP preliminary results)
