France's right-wing opposition was on Sunday, September 24, on course to extend their historic domination of the upper house Sénat, in elections marking another electoral setback for the ruling party of President Emmanuel Macron. With the biggest party Les Républicains (LR, right-wing) followed by the Socialists, the composition of the Sénat is a throwback to traditional French politics up until the last decade, when presidential elections have been dominated by the centrist Macron, hard-left and far-right.
The results of Sunday's voting showed a trend toward incumbent senators keeping their seats, indicating Les Républicain would remain by far the largest faction followed by the Socialists.
Les Républicains party said it expected to have 143-144 senators, almost identical to its current contingent of 145, while its more centrist allies in the chamber were hoping for 60 senators. Patrick Kanner, head of the Socialists in the Sénat, said he expected an alliance of his party along with the Greens and Communists to get around 100 seats. The hard left has stayed out of this alliance
Macron's party lost its overall majority in the National Assembly in the 2022 parliamentary elections and has rammed through a string of laws –including a controversial pension reform – using a controversial article that allows bills to pass without a vote.
In one major embarrassment for Macron's faction, Sonia Backes, the state secretary for citizen issues, and the only minister standing on Sunday, lost her seat in the Pacific territory of New Caledonia to pro-independence candidate Robert Xowie.
Sénat speaker Gerard Larcher of Les Républicains is expected to remain in his job – which last week saw the 74-year-old welcome the UK's King Charles III to the Sénat – by winning a sixth consecutive mandate. "This senatorial renewal reinforces the senatorial majority of the right and the center," said Larcher, describing the chamber as an "essential counter-power". Bruno Retailleau, president of the Les Républicains group in the Sénat, said the result marked a "new failure" of the French president showing his party's "lack of connection on the ground".
Francois Patriat, head of a pro-Macron group in the Sénat, said the president would be able to count on around 20 supporters in the chamber. "In the current context, this is strong resistance. This is not a defeat."
Marine Lepen's Rassemblement National (RN) celebrated its return to the Sénat, winning three seats.
Prominent Greens politician Yannick Jadot, who stood in the 2022 presidential elections, won a seat, as did high-profile Communist Ian Brossat who is responsible for housing issues at Paris city hall.