2017 French Senate election

← 2014 24 September 2017 2020 →
170 of 348 seats of the Senate 175 seats needed for a majority
Leader Bruno Retailleau Didier Guillaume François Zocchetto Leader's seat Vendée Drôme Mayenne Last election 144 seats 111 seats 43 seats Seats before 139 86 42 Seats after 146 78 49 Seat change 7 8 7 Group LR SOC UC   Leader François Patriat Gilbert Barbier Éliane Assassi Leader's seat Côte-d'Or Jura Seine-Saint-Denis Last election Did not exist 13 seats 18 seats Seats before 29 16 18 Seats after 21 21 15 Seat change 8 5 3 Group LREM RDSE CRC   Leader Claude Malhuret Leader's seat Allier Last election Did not exist Seats before Did not exist Seats after 11 Seat change 11 Group RTLI
President of the Senate before election Gérard Larcher LR Elected President of the Senate Gérard Larcher LR

Senatorial elections were held on 24 September 2017 to renew 170 of 348 seats in the Senate of the French Fifth Republic.

Organization

Senators concerned

Since 2011, the French Senate has been renewed, using two series, every three years. The senatorial elections on 24 September 2017 concern 170 outgoing senators within series 1 across 44 constituencies in addition to half the seats of senators representing French residents overseas. Specifically, the renewal includes seats representing 38 metropolitan departments numbered between 37 (Indre-et-Loire) and 66 (Pyrénées-Orientales), the departments of Île-de-France, four overseas departments (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion, and Mayotte), two overseas collectivities (Saint Pierre and Miquelon and New Caledonia), and 6 of 12 sieges of senators representing French residents overseas. Of these seats, 136 are elected proportionally and 34 by majority. The vacant series 2 seat in Savoie will be filled separately with a by-election also held on 24 September.^[1]

Electoral system

Two methods are used to elect senators. The two-round majority vote is used in constituencies which elect 1 or 2 senators, affecting 18 constituencies and 34 seats in the 2017 elections. The candidate and their alternate must be of a different sex. In order to be elected in the first round, a candidate must secure an absolute majority of votes and a number of votes equal to at least a quarter of electors. If not, a second round is organized, in which case a relative majority will be enough for a candidate to be elected. In case of a tie, the oldest of the candidates is elected. Proportional representation is used in constituencies electing 3 or more senators; in the case of the 2017 elections, this affects 26 constituencies and 130 seats, in addition to the 6 seats for senators representing French residents overseas. Each list must be composed alternately of candidates of each sex.^[1]

Senators are elected through indirect universal suffrage by an electoral college composed of deputies, senators, regional councillors elected within a department, councillors of the Corsican Assembly designated under conditions set out within the electoral code, councillors of the Guianese Assembly, councillors of the Martinican Assembly, and departmental councillors. Delegates of municipal councils, however, make up the large majority of the electoral college, representing 95% of the 162,000 electors. The number of delegates of the municipal councils depends on the municipal population authenticated on 1 January 2014 by the census. Delegates must be French nationals and be registered on the electoral list of the municipality in question.^[1]

Candidates

The minimum age for candidates in the senatorial elections is 24 years. After the 2014 renewal, the average age of senators was 61 years. Since the law on the accumulation of mandates of 14 February 2014, parliamentary mandates have been considered incompatible with local executive functions (president or vice-president of regional or departmental councils, mayor or deputies to mayors, and similar offices). This rule applies to all senators elected, re-elected, or in office as of 2 October 2017.^[1]

Results

Composition before renewal

Composition after renewal

Election of president

Gérard Larcher was re-elected president of the Senate on 2 October 2017, challenged only by Didier Guillaume and Éliane Assassi.