France's far-right gains Senate foothold

Marine Le Pen's far-right National Rally will form a parliamentary group in France's upper house for the first time after the party and its allies captured 14 Senate seats in elections on Sunday — a breakthrough that quadruples their presence in the 348-seat chamber ahead of next April's presidential contest.

National Rally, or RN, presidential candidate Le Pen hailed a "historic victory" after the results were announced.

"The results have exceeded our expectations," Le Pen said, according to Agence France-Presse.

The RN party first won Senate representation in 2014 — when it was then called the National Front — with two seats. In the 2023 elections, it won three seats.

By crossing the 10-seat threshold on Sunday, the RN secured the right to form its own parliamentary caucus, gaining procedural leverage. This status allows the party greater speaking time and more influence on the chamber's agenda.

France's Senate is elected indirectly by an electoral college of local officials and lawmakers. Half the chamber is renewed every three years, with senators serving six-year terms. Of the chamber's 348 seats, 178 were contested.

"This is a historic victory, and a major milestone with the formation for the first time of a group in the Senate," Le Pen said on X.

Sunday's vote added nine more RN senators, according to AFP tallies. Eric Ciotti's Union of the Right for the Republic, or UDR, an RN ally, contributed another two.

Jordan Bardella, the RN president, announced the party would caucus alongside UDR members. Ciotti broke with the mainstream right-wing Republicans, or LR, in 2024 after advocating an alliance with the far-right.

Gerard Larcher, who has led the LR-dominated upper chamber for over a decade, is expected to secure re-election next week. Initial results suggested the right, center, and Socialists would retain their positions as the Senate's dominant blocs.

Despite the RN's surge, the conservative Republicans and their allies appeared set to hold their Senate majority. France Unbowed, or LFI, the hard-left party led by Jean-Luc Melenchon, claimed its first Senate seat.

Le Pen's anti-immigration party became the largest single force in the lower house of the National Assembly following Macron's snap election in 2024, though it remains far short of a majority.

Le Pen will seek the presidency in the two-round vote next spring, hoping to succeed where the French far-right has consistently fallen short. Opinion polls show her party would lead the first round of voting.