2026 French Senate election
Senatorial election in France in September 2026
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2026 French Senate election is scheduled for September 27, 2026.[1][2] 178 members of the French Senate will be elected in indirect elections.[3]
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27 September 2026
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178 (out of 348) in the French Senate 175 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Background
2023 Senate elections
The 2023 Senate election saw a weakened majority of the right-wing and centre groups, accompanied with the rise of minor groups, such as the greens and the independents. Prior to the 2026 election, the Senate is composed of three main groups: the Republicans, the Socialists, and the Centrist Union, as well as six minor groups (including unaffiliated senators). Currently the Senate is dominated by the right-wing and centre-right with the Republicans and the Centrist Union holding 189 seats alone between them, with the main opposition coming from the Socialists with their 65 seats.
Electoral system
All 348 senators in the Senate are elected by indirect election through an electoral college for 6 year terms, however elections are held every 3 years to renew the terms of half the senators. The 2026 election will renew the 178 seats previously elected in 2020, also called Series 2 under French electoral law. Senators are elected in constituencies corresponding to the departments of France, and the electoral system depends on the number of seats up for election in the department. If the constituency elects 1 or 2 senators, a modified two-round system is used to elect the senators. A second round is held if the winning candidate does not secure a majority of the vote and at least a quarter of all registered eligible voters. A simple plurality is needed to win the 2nd round. Should a tie occur in the second round, the older candidate shall be declared as the winner.[4] If the constituency elects 3 or more senators, party-list proportional representation with the highest averages method is used to elect the senators.[5][6] The Electoral Code and a Ministry of the Interior circular require mayors to comply with several obligations and mandatory rules that they must fully understand.[7]
Senators by department
| Number | Department | Senators |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | Ain | 3 |
| 02 | Aisne | 3 |
| 03 | Allier | 2 |
| 04 | Alpes-de-Haute-Provence | 1 |
| 05 | Hautes-Alpes | 1 |
| 06 | Alpes-Maritimes | 5 |
| 07 | Ardèche | 2 |
| 08 | Ardennes | 2 |
| 09 | Ariège | 1 |
| 10 | Aube | 2 |
| 11 | Aude | 2 |
| 12 | Aveyron | 2 |
| 13 | Bouches-du-Rhône | 8 |
| 14 | Calvados | 3 |
| 15 | Cantal | 2 |
| 16 | Charente | 2 |
| 17 | Charente-Maritime | 3 |
| 18 | Cher | 2 |
| 19 | Corrèze | 2 |
| 2A | Corse-du-Sud | 1 |
| 2B | Haute-Corse | 1 |
| 21 | Côte-d'Or | 3 |
| 22 | Côtes-d'Armor | 3 |
| 23 | Creuse | 2 |
| 24 | Dordogne | 2 |
| 25 | Doubs | 3 |
| 26 | Drôme | 3 |
| 27 | Eure | 3 |
| 28 | Eure-et-Loir | 3 |
| 29 | Finistère | 4 |
| 30 | Gard | 3 |
| 31 | Haute-Garonne | 5 |
| 32 | Gers | 2 |
| 33 | Gironde | 6 |
| 34 | Hérault | 4 |
| 35 | Ille-et-Vilaine | 4 |
| 36 | Indre | 2 |
| 37 | Indre-et-Loire | 3 |
| 38 | Isère | 5 |
| 39 | Jura | 2 |
| 40 | Landes | 2 |
| 41 | Loir-et-Cher | 2 |
| 42 | Loire | 4 |
| 43 | Haute-Loire | 2 |
| 44 | Loire-Atlantique | 5 |
| 45 | Loiret | 3 |
| 46 | Lot | 2 |
| 47 | Lot-et-Garonne | 2 |
| 48 | Lozère | 1 |
| 49 | Maine-et-Loire | 4 |
| 50 | Manche | 3 |
| 51 | Marne | 3 |
| 52 | Haute-Marne | 2 |
| 53 | Mayenne | 2 |
| 54 | Meurthe-et-Moselle | 4 |
| 55 | Meuse | 2 |
| 56 | Morbihan | 3 |
| 57 | Moselle | 5 |
| 58 | Nièvre | 2 |
| 59 | Nord | 11 |
| 60 | Oise | 4 |
| 61 | Orne | 2 |
| 62 | Pas-de-Calais | 7 |
| 63 | Puy-de-Dôme | 3 |
| 64 | Pyrénées-Atlantiques | 3 |
| 65 | Hautes-Pyrénées | 2 |
| 66 | Pyrénées-Orientales | 2 |
| 67 | Bas-Rhin | 5 |
| 68 | Haut-Rhin | 4 |
| 69 | Rhône | 7 |
| 70 | Haute-Saône | 2 |
| 71 | Saône-et-Loire | 3 |
| 72 | Sarthe | 3 |
| 73 | Savoie | 2 |
| 74 | Haute-Savoie | 3 |
| 75 | Paris | 12 |
| 76 | Seine-Maritime | 6 |
| 77 | Seine-et-Marne | 6 |
| 78 | Yvelines | 6 |
| 79 | Deux-Sèvres | 2 |
| 80 | Somme | 3 |
| 81 | Tarn | 2 |
| 82 | Tarn-et-Garonne | 2 |
| 83 | Var | 4 |
| 84 | Vaucluse | 3 |
| 85 | Vendée | 3 |
| 86 | Vienne | 2 |
| 87 | Haute-Vienne | 2 |
| 88 | Vosges | 2 |
| 89 | Yonne | 2 |
| 90 | Territoire de Belfort | 1 |
| 91 | Essonne | 5 |
| 92 | Hauts-de-Seine | 7 |
| 93 | Seine-Saint-Denis | 6 |
| 94 | Val-de-Marne | 6 |
| 95 | Val-d'Oise | 5 |
| 971 | Guadeloupe | 3 |
| 972 | Martinique | 2 |
| 973 | Guyane | 2 |
| 974 | La Réunion | 4 |
| 975 | Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon | 1 |
| 976 | Mayotte | 2 |
| 977 | Saint-Barthélemy | 1 |
| 978 | Saint-Martin | 1 |
| 986 | Wallis and Futuna | 1 |
| 987 | French Polynesia | 2 |
| 988 | New Caledonia | 2 |
| French Abroad Series 1 | 6 | |
| French citizens abroad series 2 | 6 | |
| TOTAL | 348 |
Results
Results by political group
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| Parliamentary groups | Seats | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total before |
Up | Elected | Total after |
Change | ||
| Republicans (REP) | 130 | 77 | ||||
| Socialists (SOC) | 65 | 31 | ||||
| Centrist Union (UC) | 59 | 30 | ||||
| The Independents – Republic and Territories (LIRT) | 20 | 9 | ||||
| Rally of Democrats, Progressives and Independents (RDPI) | 19 | 11 | ||||
| Communist, Republican, Citizen and Ecologist (CRCE) | 18 | 4 | ||||
| European Democratic and Social Rally (RDSE) | 17 | 8 | ||||
| Ecologists (GEST) | 16 | 7 | ||||
| Non-inscrits (RASNAG) | 4 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 348 | 178 | 178 | 348 | ||
Results by department
See also
Notes
- The position has been vacant since 19 August 2026, following the death of group president François Patriat.
