Far right scores historic victory in French Senate election

PARIS — Marine Le Pen’s National Rally won enough seats to form a group in the French Senate elections Sunday, giving the far-right party better representation in leadership roles and committees in the upper house of parliament. “This is a historic victory and a major milestone,” Le Pen wrote on X . The National Rally jumped from three seats to 15 in the Senate during Sunday’s contest, clearing the 11-seat threshold to form a group. Half the Senate is elected every three years by some 42,000 local officials. Le Pen, who polls show is the front-runner in next year’s presidential election, said on X that her party’s new Senate group “will serve as an essential platform during the presidential campaign.