France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party and its allies have secured a record 14 seats in the Senate, effectively quadrupling its number in the 348-seat chamber just months before a presidential election. Sunday’s indirect election of senators marked the first time Marine Le Pen’s party won enough seats to form its own caucus. It emerged as the single largest party in the lower-house National Assembly after President Emmanuel Macron called snap polls in 2024, though it fell well short of a majority.
Le Pen is preparing to run in next year’s presidential election when centrist Macron steps down. RN president Jordan Bardella said the party’s senators would form an alliance with the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR). The right, centre and left-wing Socialists looked set to remain the three major forces in the upper house, according to initial results.
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