On September 24, elected representatives in France will vote to renew 170 of the 348 seats in the Sénat. The conservatives are the overwhelming favorites to retain the chamber they have almost continuously controlled since 1958. Here is an overview of how these elections work and what to expect.
When will the vote take place?
The 2023 senatorial elections will be held on Sunday, September 24. Voting will take place in the prefectures of the departments whose seats are in play.
Which seats are up for grabs?
The 170 seats being contested represent the following constituencies:
- The eight Ile-de-France departments (the Paris region).
- The departments numbered 37 to 66 (every department in France is attributed a number, which originally corresponded to the alphabetical order).
- Six overseas territories: (Guadeloupe, Martinique, La Réunion, Mayotte, New Caledonia and Saint-Pierre-and-Miquelon).
- Six of the 12 seats representing French nationals living outside France.
How long are senators' terms?
The term of office is six years long. Every three years, half of the Sénat is renewed. Candidates must be aged at least 24 to run.
Who votes?
Senators are elected by an electoral college in each department made up of elected representatives from that department: senators, members of the Assemblée Nationale, regional councilors, department councilors and municipal council delegates. The latter were appointed by their municipal councils on June 9, and account for approximately 95% of the 78,000 electors voting on September 24. The number of municipal delegates per municipality depends on its population.
Senators representing French nationals living abroad are elected by an electoral college including the members of the Sénat and the Assemblée representing French nationals living abroad as well as consular councillors and delegates.
Voting is compulsory for senatorial electors, though they may send a proxy to vote for them. An unjustified failure to vote is punishable by a fine of €100.
What voting system is used?
The population of the constituency determines the number of seats to be filled and the voting system used.
In departments electing one or two senators, a two-round first-past-the-post system applies. To be elected in the first round, a candidate must obtain at least half the votes cast and a number of votes at least equal to one-quarter of the number of registered voters. If no candidate reaches 50%, a second round is held in the afternoon, with all candidates allowed to stay in the race, if they wish to. The candidate who earns the most votes in the second round is the winner. In the event of a tie, the older candidate joins the Sénat.
In departments electing three or more senators, the proportional representation system applies. Candidates running together form lists made up of as many people as the number of seats in play, plus two (for potential substitutions, in case a senator is appointed to the government, goes on sick leave, etc.). The list's order must alternate between men and women. Senators are designated with the "highest-averages" method: A quotient is first determined by dividing the number of voters by the number of seats for the department. The number of votes received by each list is then divided by this quotient (rounded down to the nearest whole number) to define the number of seats won by each list. If not all seats have been allocated, the number of votes received by each list is divided by the number of seats already allocated, plus one. The list with the highest average is awarded a further seat. This is repeated until all seats have been filled.
How is the president of the Sénat chosen?
The election of the president of the Sénat will take place on October 2, on the opening day of the 2023-2024 ordinary session. Until a president is elected, the acting president will be the oldest member age-wise. They will be assisted by acting secretaries: the six youngest senators.
The president is elected for three-year terms after every senatorial election. An absolute majority of votes cast is required for election in the first or second round of voting. In the event of a third round, a relative majority is sufficient. A senator may stand for election in the second or third round without having been a candidate in the previous round.
Each group decides whether or not to present a candidate for the presidency. If no group holds an absolute majority, the vote, which is held by secret ballot, may give rise to alliances, negotiations and bargaining, in which the distribution of leadership positions (vice-presidencies, committee chairmanships, quaestors, etc.) plays an important role.
Will the Sénat remain male-dominated?
Currently, there are 118 women in the Sénat (34% of seats) and 230 men (66%). By way of comparison, the Assemblée Nationale, the other house of Parliament, has 37.3% of female members.
While the number of women running has risen in recent decades (from 16 in 1992 to 75 in 2008), the rules introduced to promote gender parity have proven inefficient in narrowing the gap, with some candidates openly flouting them. In constituencies where proportional representation is in place (which is the case for 80% of the seats in play this year), candidate lists must alternate between men and women. But some candidates have found a way around this: In the Oise department (North of Paris), for example, the three outgoing LR senators (all men) will each lead their own list, because it would be impossible for all three to be re-elected if they ran as part of the same list.
Why are the conservatives the favorites?
The Sénat has consistently had a right-wing majority since the birth of the Fifth Republic in 1958, with the exception of a three-year Socialist interlude between 2011 and 2014. The elections on September 24 are unlikely to change the balance.
Les Républicains (LR, right-wing) and their centrist allies are almost certain to retain an absolute majority, in which case they would also re-elect Gérard Larcher (LR) as president of the Sénat, for his fifth three-year term since 2008.
What about the left?
There are three left-wing groups in the Sénat (Socialists, environmentalists, and Communists), who earlier this year worked united to fight against the government's reform of the pension system. After reaching an agreement in June, they will run together in 14 departments.
The environmentalist group, which currently holds 12 seats, is hoping to increase its size thanks to the Greens' gains in the 2020 municipal elections. The Socialists and Communists, who have 64 and 15 senators respectively, are aiming for "stability."
Unlike in the Assemblée Nationale, the three groups did not wish to include the more radical La France Insoumise (LFI) in their alliance. This is in part because of their disagreements with the party's leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon, but it is also because LFI has few local representatives eligible to vote. LFI, which has the largest left-wing group in the Assemblée Nationale, with 75 members, does not hold a single seat in the Sénat.
And Macron's party?
President Emmanuel Macron's party Renaissance and its allies could be the big losers of Sunday's vote. They have little local backing, which is the key factor in senatorial elections. Additionally, some of their current senators are Socialist defectors who are no longer popular in their left-leaning constituencies. The pro-Macron RDPI group heads into the elections with 23 seats.