Perceived by the government as an island of stability and moderation, in contrast to the unpredictable Assemblée Nationale, the Sénat has nonetheless established itself as the true chamber of oversight over government conduct. The latest example is its inquiry into the Marianne Fund, led by the Socialist chairman of the Finance Committee, Claude Raynal, and Senator Jean-François Husson (Les Républicains, LR, right-wing).
At the end of two months of high-profile hearings, mainly implicating junior minister Marlène Schiappa, who created the €2.5 million fund to promote secularism, senators denounced the "drift of a political stunt" marked by "amateurism" in a report made public on July 6. Working in parallel with an investigation opened by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office into the misuse of the funds, this Sénat committee contributed to weakening Schiappa's position in the government: She was eventually dismissed during the reshuffle on July 20. "The job of overseeing the government is accomplished in the Sénat," said Raynal, who insisted on his impartiality: "We're not at all attacking the government or any minister in particular."
In addition to the committee on the Marianne Fund, other investigations have illustrated the Sénat's steadfastness regarding conduct in the executive branch. They include investigative committees on the incidents at the Stade de France during the 2022 Champions League final and on the government's "opaque" use of consulting firms, whose findings were revealed during the 2022 presidential campaign, as well as the 2018 investigation into Alexandre Benalla, a Macron aide who was filmed assaulting protesters, and later found to have inappropriately used diplomatic passports and illegally carried arms. All of these committees have caused problems for the government, which has very few senators of its own: The Sénat is largely dominated by the right and opposition centrists.
"A chamber that is not held by the presidential majority has more latitude to carry out actions that are a little more in-depth, without too many political limitations," said Raynal, recalling that under pressure from the Elysée, the Assemblée Nationale's Law Committee, controlled pro-Macron MPs, had given up investigating Benalla. "This closely watched episode demonstrated the effectiveness of the Sénat compared with the Assemblée Nationale," said Jean-Jacques Urvoas, a former Socialist justice minister.
In France's Fifth Republic, senators don't have the power to hold a vote of no confidence to topple the government; and, inversely, the government can't dissolve the Sénat. So, according to Urvoas, senators have sought to "develop specific means of exercising this capacity to oversee" the executive branch. "Senators see it as a kind of ardent daily obligation justifying the Sénat's existence. They don't see themselves as a counter-power, but as parliamentary power," continued Urvoas.
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