The far-right populist Rassemblement National (RN), the party of Marine Le Pen, registered another success during the by-elections for the French Senate. In Sunday evening’s vote, the party secured nine senators, which means that it can now establish a presence of 14 senators, alongside its partner party UDR, allowing it to form its own faction in the Senate for the first time.
Le Pen described the achievement on the X platform as “a historic victory and a big step, marked by the formation of a fraction in the Senate for the first time.”
The French Senate, which has a total of 348 seats, is half-populated by local politicians who elect new senators every three years. These senators serve a six-year term. Previously, the Rassemblement National-then known as Front National-first entered the Senate with just two seats in 2014, later winning three seats in 2023.
