France moves right: Le Pen's party records historic achievement

Marine Le Pen's National Rally party achieved a significant milestone in the French Senate elections, securing 12 senators and enabling it to form an independent parliamentary group for the first time in its history. Together with its ally, the group will have 15 members. The achievement is seen as further strengthening of the national right ahead of the 2027 presidential elections.

Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) party recorded a historic achievement in the French Senate elections held on Sunday. The party will have 12 senators, after nine new candidates were elected and joined three incumbents. Together with three representatives from Éric Ciotti's UDR party, an RN ally, the joint group is expected to have 15 members. For Le Pen's camp, this is an achievement that goes beyond the number of seats itself, as for years her party struggled to establish significant power in the Senate, which is controlled by the traditional right. Now it has succeeded for the first time in establishing an independent and more significant presence there. The traditional right maintained its majority in the upper house, but the RN emerges from the elections strengthened. The result comes at a particularly significant time ahead of the 2027 French presidential elections, which are the last major national elections before the presidential race. Le Pen welcomed the results and called them "a great victory."