1959 French Senate election

The first senatorial elections of the Fifth Republic were held in France on April 26, 1959. ^[1]

Context

The Senate was created by constitution of the Fifth Republic to replace Council of the Republic. This election depend largely of the results of 1959 municipal elections.

Results

Group		Ideology	Seats	Percentage
	Independent Republicans (RI)	Liberalism, Right-wing	70	22,6 %
	Democratic Left (GD)	Radicalism, Right-wing, Left-wing	66	21,3%
	Socialist (SOC)	Socialism, Left-wing	61	19,7%
	Union for the New Republic (UNR)	Gaullism, Right-wing	37	12,0%
	Popular Republican Movement (MRP)	Christian democracy, Right-wing	34	11,0%
	Republican Centre of Rural and Social Action (CNIP)	Conservatism, Right-wing	20	6,5%
	Communist (COM)	Communism, Left-wing	14	4,5%
	Non-Registered (NI)	None	7	2,3%
	Total:		309	100,0 %

Senate Presidency

On April 28, 1959, Gaston Monnerville a senator from Guyane was elected president of the Senate. Monnerville has been the highest-ranking black politician in French history, and if he was a candidate for reelection in 1968, he could have become the first black president of France the next year when President Pompidou died. ^[2]

List of senators elected by region

Senator	Group		District	Source
Alsace
Louis Jung		RP	Bas-Rhin	[3]
Michel Kauffmann		RP	Bas-Rhin	[4]
Michel Kistler		RP	Bas-Rhin	[5]
Paul Wach		RP	Bas-Rhin	[6]
Paul-Jacques Kalb		UNR	Haut-Rhin	[7]
Eugène Ritzenthaler		UNR	Haut-Rhin	[8]
Modeste Zussy		UNR	Haut-Rhin	[9]
Aquitaine
Marcel Brégégère		SOC	Dordogne	[10]
Charles Sinsout [11]		GD	Dordogne	[12]
Marc Pauzet		CNIP	Gironde	[13]
Georges Portmann		RI	Gironde	[14]
Max Monichon		CNIP	Gironde	[15]
Raymond Brun		CNIP	Gironde	[16]
Jean-Louis Fournier		SOC	Landes	[17]
Gérard Minvielle		SOC	Landes	[18]
Jacques Bordeneuve		GD	Lot-et-Garonne	[19]
Étienne Restat		GD	Lot-et-Garonne	[20]
Guy Petit		RI	Basses-Pyrénées	[21]
Jean Errecart		RP	Basses-Pyrénées	[22]
Jean-Louis Tinaud		RI	Basses-Pyrénées	[23]
Auvergne
Fernand Auberger		SOC	Allier	[24]
Georges Rougeron		SOC	Allier	[25]
Hector Peschaud		CNIP	Cantal	[26]
Paul Piales		CNIP	Cantal	[27]
Robert Bouvard		RI	Haute-Loire	[28]
Jean De Lachomette		CNIP	Haute-Loire	[29]
Michel Champleboux		SOC	Puy-de-Dôme	[30]
Francis Dassaud		SOC	Puy-de-Dôme	[31]
Gabriel Montpied		SOC	Puy-de-Dôme	[32]
Lower Normandy
Louis Andre		RI	Calvados	[33]
Jacques Descours-Desacres		RI	Calvados	[34]
Jean-Marie Louvel		RP	Calvados	[35]
Henri Cornat		RI	Manche	[36]
Léon Jozeau-Marigne		RI	Manche	[37]
Michel Yver		RI	Manche	[38]
Étienne Le Sassier-Boisauné		RI	Orne	[39]
Paul Pelleray		RI	Orne	[40]
Burgundy
Roger Duchet		RI	Côte-d'Or	[41]
Étienne Viallanes		RI	Côte-d'Or	[42]
François Mitterrand		GD	Nièvre	[43]
Jacques Gadoin		GD	Nièvre	[44]
Roger Lagrange		SOC	Saône-et-Loire	[45]
Marcel Legros		RI	Saône-et-Loire	[46]
Jules Pinsard		GD	Saône-et-Loire	[47]
Philippe de Raincourt [a]		RI	Yonne	[48]
André Plait		RI	Yonne	[49]
Brittany
André Cornu		GD	Côtes du Nord	[50]
Jean de Bagneux		RI	Côtes du Nord	[51]
Bernard Lemarié		RP	Côtes du Nord	[52]
Jean Fichoux		RI	Finistère	[53]
Yves Hamon		RP	Finistère	[54]
André Monteil		RP	Finistère	[55]
André Colin		RP	Finistère	[56]
Roger du Halgouët		UNR	Ille-et-Vilaine	[57]
Yves Estève		UNR	Ille-et-Vilaine	[58]
Jean Noury		RP	Ille-et-Vilaine	[59]
Marcel Lambert		RI	Morbihan	[60]
Victor Golvan		UNR	Morbihan	[61]
Joseph Yvon		RP	Morbihan	[62]
Centre
Champagne-Ardenne
Corsica
Jean-Paul de Rocca-Serra		GD	Corsica	[63]
Jacques Faggianelli		GD	Corsica	[64]
Franche-Comté
Marcel Boulangé		SOC	Territoire de Belfort	[65]
Jacques Henriet		RI	Doubs	[66]
Marcel Prélot		UNR	Doubs	[67]
Edgar Faure		GD	Jura	[68]
Charles Laurent-Thouverey		GD	Jura	[69]
Henri Pretre		RI	Haute-Saône	[70]
André Maroselli		GD	Haute-Saône	[71]

Notes

1. dies two months later and was replaced by Paul Guillaumot

References

1. "Élections sénatoriales 1959". www.france-politique.fr.
2. "On a failli avoir un président noir en France... - Un post de Vaugirard sur LePost.fr". www.lepost.fr.
3. "JUNG Louis". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
4. "KAUFFMANN Michel". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
5. "KISTLER Michel". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
6. "WACH Paul". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
7. "KALB Paul-Jacques". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
8. "RITZENTHALER Eugène". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
9. "ZUSSY Modeste". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
10. "BREGEGERE Marcel". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
11. election annulled by the Constitutional Council
12. "SINSOUT Charles". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
13. "PAUZET Marc". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
14. "PORTMANN Georges". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
15. "MONICHON Max". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
16. "BRUN Raymond". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
17. "FOURNIER Jean-Louis". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
18. "MINVIELLE Gérard". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
19. "BORDENEUVE Jacques". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
20. "RESTAT Etienne". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
21. "PETIT Guy". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
22. "ERRECART Jean". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
23. "TINAUD Jean-Louis". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
24. "AUBERGER Fernand". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
25. "ROUGERON Georges". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
26. "PESCHAUD Hector". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
27. "PIALES Paul". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
28. "BOUVARD Robert". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
29. "de LACHOMETTE Jean". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
30. "CHAMPLEBOUX Michel". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
31. "DASSAUD Francis". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
32. "MONTPIED Gabriel". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
33. "ANDRE Louis". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
34. "DESCOURS DESACRES Jacques". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
35. "LOUVEL Jean-Marie". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
36. "CORNAT Henri". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
37. "JOZEAU-MARIGNE Léon". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
38. "YVER Michel". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
39. "LE SASSIER BOISAUNÉ Etienne". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
40. "PELLERAY Paul". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
41. "DUCHET Roger". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
42. "VIALLANES Etienne". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
43. "MITTERRAND François". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
44. "GADOIN Jacques". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
45. "LAGRANGE Roger". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
46. "LEGROS Marcel". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
47. "PINSARD Jules". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
48. "de RAINCOURT Philippe". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
49. "PLAIT André". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
50. "CORNU André". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
51. "de BAGNEUX Jean". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
52. "LEMARIÉ Bernard". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
53. "FICHOUX Jean". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
54. "HAMON Yves". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
55. "MONTEIL André". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
56. "COLIN André". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
57. "DU HALGOUET Roger". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
58. "ESTEVE Yves". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
59. "NOURY Jean". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
60. "LAMBERT Marcel". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
61. "GOLVAN Victor". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
62. "YVON Joseph". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
63. "de ROCCA-SERRA Jean-Paul". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
64. "FAGGIANELLI Jacques". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
65. "BOULANGÉ Marcel". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
66. "HENRIET Jacques". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
67. "PRELOT Marcel". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
68. "FAURE Edgar". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
69. "LAURENT-THOUVEREY Charles". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
70. "PRETRE Henri". Sénat. January 6, 2026.
71. "MAROSELLI André". Sénat. January 6, 2026.