Le Pen's party will be able to form a group in the French Senate for the first time

French "National Rally" (RN) together with its allies has for the first time obtained enough senators to form its own parliamentary group in the country's upper house. This was one of the main outcomes of the partial renewal of the Senate that took place on September 27.

According to Le Monde's calculations, RN and its allied "Union of the Right for the Republic" (UDR) of Éric Ciotti received at least 14 seats. To create an official political group in the Senate, ten senators are sufficient.

Thus, the party, which is led by Jordan Bardella and whose key political figure remains Marine Le Pen, will for the first time be able to obtain separate representation at the parliamentary group level in the Senate. Previously its senators were classified as non-attached members.

Formally, the composition of the new group still needs to be finalized. As Public Sénat notes, political forces must submit the lists of members of their groups by October 5. Preliminarily, the new faction of RN and UDR will have about 14 senators.

The status of a separate group gives the party more opportunities to influence the work of the upper house. In particular, parliamentary groups receive guaranteed speaking time, representation in the governing bodies and committees of the Senate, as well as the ability to initiate certain parliamentary investigations and use the opposition rights provided for by the rules of procedure.

At the same time, the election results did not change the overall political balance in the Senate. The right-wing "The Republicans" and their centrist allies retained the majority in the upper house, although their representation decreased somewhat.

In the September 27 elections, 178 of 348 seats in the Senate were up for renewal. French senators are elected not by direct popular vote, but by an electoral college, the overwhelming majority of which consists of representatives of local authorities.

The new composition of the upper house begins work on October 1. Political groups after the partial renewal of the Senate are formed anew, so it is in the coming days that the final composition of the new group of RN and its allies will become known.

Based on materials from: Le Monde, Public Sénat, Senate of France