Marine Le Pen, French far-right leader and member of parliament, who is running in the 2027 French presidential election for the RN, and Jordan Bardella, president of the French far-right Rassemblement National (National Rally – RN) political party, at the end of Le Pen’s speech in Henin-Beaumont, northern France (Reuters image)
Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN) has secured enough seats to form a parliamentary group in France’s Senate for the first time, marking a breakthrough for the party less than a year before the 2027 presidential election. The RN and its smaller ally, the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR), will have at least 15 seats in the 348-member upper house, exceeding the minimum 10 required to form a group. The Senate results came as a new Toluna-Harris survey for French television channels RTL and M6 showed Le Pen leading the first round of the 2027 presidential election, scheduled for April 18, with 35% to 36% of the vote. The RN emerged as the largest single party in the National Assembly after President Emmanuel Macron called snap elections in 2024, but fell short of securing a majority. Meanwhile, former French president Francois Hollande has said he may consider contesting the 2027 presidential election, but only if he sees a realistic chance of winning.
The RN won nine seats, while the UDR, led by Eric Ciotti, secured three.
RN president Jordan Bardella, who is eyeing the post of prime minister if Le Pen becomes president, said the results confirmed “the momentum of our movement as we approach the mother of all battles — the presidential election”. The party’s presence in the Senate will allow it to participate in influential committees that examine and shape legislation. The results of the weekend election were published on Monday.