Why France's local elections matter for the senatorial elections later this year

LÉA GIRARDOT / LE MONDE

Will the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) party be able to form a group in France's upper house of Parliament, the Sénat? Will the radical left-wing La France Insoumise (LFI) win its first-ever seat there? Will the conservative Les Républicains (LR) see their Sénat majority erode in favor of other parties?

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2026 French municipal elections: Five takeaways from the first round

Though they are scheduled for September, the senatorial elections, in which half of the chamber's seats will be contested, will be greatly determined by the results of the municipal elections, the second round of which is taking place on Sunday, March 22. Most of the members of the electoral colleges responsible for electing France's senators in September will be the recently elected municipal councillors.