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France’s far-right National Rally (RN) and its allies secured a record 14 seats in Sunday’s Senate election, nearly quadrupling the party’s representation in the 348-member upper house. The result also gives the RN enough seats to form a parliamentary group for the first time.
RN presidential candidate Marine Le Pen described the result as a “historic victory”, saying it exceeded the party’s expectations. RN leader Jordan Bardella said the party’s senators would form a group with allies from Éric Ciotti’s Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR).
According to an AFP tally, nine RN candidates were elected on Sunday, in addition to three senators elected in 2023. Two more seats went to candidates from the RN-aligned UDR, bringing the total for the RN and its allies to 14.
France’s Senate is partly renewed every three years, with local elected representatives choosing half of its members. Senators serve six-year terms.
The RN first entered the Senate in 2014, when it was known as the National Front, winning two seats. It secured three seats in the 2023 election.
The right, centre and Socialist left are expected to remain the main forces in the upper house, while the hard-left France Unbowed (LFI) won a Senate seat for the first time.
The Senate result comes ahead of France’s presidential election scheduled for April 2027, when President Emmanuel Macron is due to leave office. The RN emerged as the largest single party in the National Assembly after Macron called snap legislative elections in 2024, although it fell short of a majority.