France renews half its Senate in indirect vote
Some 93,000 local officials elect 178 senators on Sunday, testing the far right's push for a first parliamentary group.
KEY POINTS
- 178 of 348 Senate seats renewed on 27 September 2026
- Electorate of ~93,000 local officials votes indirectly
- Centre-right majority expected to retain control
- RN aims to form first parliamentary group (needs 10 senators)
- LFI seeks its first-ever senator
Voting took place on Sunday across 63 departments to renew 178 of the Senate's 348 seats for six-year terms. The electorate consists of roughly 93,000 "grand electors" — mainly municipal councillors — making the vote a reflection of local political balances rather than national opinion polls.
The centre-right majority led by The Republicans (LR) and centrist allies is expected to hold, and Senate President Gérard Larcher is set to win re-election on Thursday. Analysts see little chance of a sudden shift in the chamber's overall balance.
“There will still be a Centrist Union-LR majority on Monday and Gérard Larcher should succeed himself.”
The main suspense surrounds the National Rally (RN), which currently holds only three seats. The party hopes to triple its tally and reach the ten-senator threshold required to form a parliamentary group, possibly in alliance with Éric Ciotti's UDR and dissident LR members.
Other storylines include whether La France Insoumise (LFI) will win its first Senate seat and how the presidential majority group fares months before Emmanuel Macron leaves office. Results began filtering in from late morning and continued through the evening.
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