France’s far-right National Rally gains ground in Senate vote

France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party and its allies have secured a record 14 seats in the Senate, effectively quadrupling its number in the 348-seat chamber just months before a presidential election. Sunday’s indirect election ⁠of senators marked the first time Marine Le Pen ’s party won enough seats to form its own caucus. “The results have exceeded our expectations,” Le Pen, the party’s leader and presidential candidate, said in a post on X. “This is a historic victory, and a major milestone with the formation for the first time of a group in the Senate.” RN entered the Senate for the first time with two seats in 2014, when it was known as the National Front, and won three seats in 2023.