France’s far-right National Rally quadruples Senate presence ahead of 2027 vote

Marine Le Pen’s National Rally and its allies have secured a record 14 seats in France’s partial Senate elections, giving the party its own group in the upper chamber for the first time.

Le Pen described the result as a “historic victory” and “major milestone” as the far-right party passed the 10-seat threshold required to form a Senate group.

The gains will give the National Rally greater visibility and resources in the 348-seat Senate ahead of France’s 2027 presidential election.

President Emmanuel Macron is due to step down after completing his second term.

National Rally MP Sebastien Chenu called the result “a boost for the presidential campaign” and said there was “no more glass ceiling” for the party.

Edwige Diaz, who won a Senate seat for the National Rally in Gironde, told Le Parisien: “This will be very useful for us before the presidential election.”

Despite the National Rally’s gains, final results showed France’s Senate remained dominated by the traditional right and centre-right.

The National Rally is already the largest single party in France’s National Assembly but had previously maintained only a small presence in the Senate.