World
France holds partial Senate renewal in the last vote before the presidential election
A total of 178 of the upper house’s 348 seats are being renewed through indirect voting. The right and the center are expected to keep their majority, while attention is focused on the far right and a possible entry by La France insoumise.
France held senatorial elections on Sunday to renew 178 of the 348 seats in the upper house. As France Info and Le Monde noted, it is the last election before the presidential race, making the outcome especially closely watched by party leaderships.
The vote is held by indirect suffrage, with so-called grand electors chosen from among local officeholders. According to France Info, the alliance between Les Républicains and centrist forces is expected to retain its Senate majority, but one key question is whether the Rassemblement national can reach the threshold of 10 senators needed to form its own parliamentary group. Another issue is the possible arrival of a La France insoumise lawmaker in the chamber.
France Info also reported that Gérard Larcher is seeking another three years as Senate president. The election for the post is scheduled for Thursday, October 1.
Among the first reported results, regionalist candidate Paul Toussaint Parigi won in Haute-Corse with 83.4% of the vote. In Ardennes, Else Joseph of Les Républicains was elected in the first round with 51.74%. In Vosges, Daniel Gremillet of Les Républicains and Jean Hingray of the UDI kept their seats.
In Indre, Nadine Bellurot was re-elected for a second term with support from Les Républicains, France Info said, citing ICI Berry. In Ardèche, the right held ground with the re-election of Mathieu Darnaud and Anne Ventalon.
In Creuse, Socialist senator Jean-Jacques Lozach secured a fourth consecutive term, France Info reported, citing ICI Creuse. In Allier, Claude Malhuret was re-elected with 66.95% of the vote, and Bruno Roouan also won his seat in the first round with 67.68%.
There was also a change in Wallis and Futuna: Lafaele Tukumuli became the territory’s new representative in the Senate with 16 votes out of 22, while outgoing senator Mikaele Kulimoetoke received three votes, according to Wallis et Futuna la 1ere as cited by France Info.
In other districts, the right and the center kept their seats with the re-election of Jean-Michel Arnaud in Hautes-Alpes, Jean-Jacques Panuzzi in Corse-du-Sud and Cédric Perrin in Territoire de Belfort.
France Info recalled that the Senate shares with the National Assembly the power to pass laws and oversee the government, although it must give way to the lower house when the two chambers disagree on a bill. The Constitution also assigns it the role of representing territorial collectivities, and bills dealing with their organization must first be examined at the Luxembourg Palace.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
