2017 French Senate election

Last updated

2017 French Senate election
Flag of France.svg
  2014 24 September 2017 2020  

170 of 348 seats of the Senate
175 seats needed for a majority
 
Bruno Retailleau (1).jpg
Offdg (cropped).jpg
Francois Zocchetto 11 janvier 2015 (cropped).jpg
Leader Bruno Retailleau Didier Guillaume François Zocchetto
Leader's seat Vendée Drôme Mayenne
Last election144 seats111 seats43 seats
Seats before1398642
Seats after1467849
Seat changeIncrease2.svg7Decrease2.svg8Increase2.svg7
Group LR SOC UC

 
Francois Patriat.jpg
Gilbert Barbier - visite INRA Versailles.jpg
Eliane Assassi (cropped).jpg
Leader François Patriat Gilbert Barbier Éliane Assassi
Leader's seat Côte-d'Or Jura Seine-Saint-Denis
Last electionDid not exist13 seats18 seats
Seats before291618
Seats after212115
Seat changeDecrease2.svg8Increase2.svg5Decrease2.svg3
Group LREM RDSE CRC

 
Claude Malhuret, president du groupe Les Independants - Senat (cropped).jpg
Leader Claude Malhuret
Leader's seat Allier
Last electionDid not exist
Seats beforeDid not exist
Seats after11
Seat changeIncrease2.svg11
Group RTLI

Senatoriales2017.svg

President of the Senate before election

Gérard Larcher
LR

Elected President of the Senate

Gérard Larcher
LR

Senatorial elections were held on 24 September 2017 to renew 170 of 348 seats in the Senate of the French Fifth Republic.

Contents

Organization

Senators concerned

Since 2011, the French Senate has been renewed, using two series, every three years. The senatorial elections on 24 September 2017 concern 170 outgoing senators within series 1 across 44 constituencies in addition to half the seats of senators representing French residents overseas. Specifically, the renewal includes seats representing 38 metropolitan departments numbered between 37 (Indre-et-Loire) and 66 (Pyrénées-Orientales), the departments of Île-de-France, four overseas departments (Guadeloupe, Martinique, Réunion, and Mayotte), two overseas collectivities (Saint Pierre and Miquelon and New Caledonia), and 6 of 12 sieges of senators representing French residents overseas. Of these seats, 136 are elected proportionally and 34 by majority. The vacant series 2 seat in Savoie will be filled separately with a by-election also held on 24 September. [1]

Electoral system

Two methods are used to elect senators. The two-round majority vote is used in constituencies which elect 1 or 2 senators, affecting 18 constituencies and 34 seats in the 2017 elections. The candidate and their alternate must be of a different sex. In order to be elected in the first round, a candidate must secure an absolute majority of votes and a number of votes equal to at least a quarter of electors. If not, a second round is organized, in which case a relative majority will be enough for a candidate to be elected. In case of a tie, the oldest of the candidates is elected. Proportional representation is used in constituencies electing 3 or more senators; in the case of the 2017 elections, this affects 26 constituencies and 130 seats, in addition to the 6 seats for senators representing French residents overseas. Each list must be composed alternately of candidates of each sex. [1]

Senators are elected through indirect universal suffrage by an electoral college composed of deputies, senators, regional councillors elected within a department, councillors of the Corsican Assembly designated under conditions set out within the electoral code, councillors of the Guianese Assembly, councillors of the Martinican Assembly, and departmental councillors. Delegates of municipal councils, however, make up the large majority of the electoral college, representing 95% of the 162,000 electors. The number of delegates of the municipal councils depends on the municipal population authenticated on 1 January 2014 by the census. Delegates must be French nationals and be registered on the electoral list of the municipality in question. [1]

Candidates

The minimum age for candidates in the senatorial elections is 24 years. After the 2014 renewal, the average age of senators was 61 years. Since the law on the accumulation of mandates of 14 February 2014, parliamentary mandates have been considered incompatible with local executive functions (president or vice-president of regional or departmental councils, mayor or deputies to mayors, and similar offices). This rule applies to all senators elected, re-elected, or in office as of 2 October 2017. [1]

Results

Constituencies by election method

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Majoritarian

Proportional

Not concerned Elections senatoriales 2017 - Circonscriptions renouvelables avec mode de scrutin.svg
Constituencies by election method
  Majoritarian
  Proportional
  Not concerned

Composition before renewal

Composition of the Senate as of 23 September 2017 [2]
GroupRenewable% series 1Total seats% of totalPresident
LR 5331.4%13938.1% Bruno Retailleau
SOC 4627.2%8653.5% Didier Guillaume
UC 1911.2%4245.2% François Zocchetto
REM 1911.2%2965.5% François Patriat
CRC 169.5%1888.9% Éliane Assassi
RDSE 74.1%1643.8% Gilbert Barbier
RASNAG 95.3%1464.3% Philippe Adnot (delegate)
Vacant (1 Savoie series 2 by-election)3

Composition after renewal

Composition of the Senate as of 3 October 2017 [3]
Parliamentary groupMembersAssociatedAttachedTotalPresident
LR The Republicans 129611146 Bruno Retailleau
SOC Socialist and Republican 780078 Didier Guillaume
UC Centrist Union 426149 Hervé Marseille
REM La République En Marche 191121 François Patriat
RDSE European Democratic and Social Rally 190221 Jean-Claude Requier
CRCE Communist, Republican, Citizen and Ecologist 120315 Éliane Assassi
RTLI Republic and Territories / The Independents 101011 Claude Malhuret
RASNAG Administrative meeting of senators not appearing on the list of any group 55 Philippe Adnot (delegate)

Election of president

Gérard Larcher was re-elected president of the Senate on 2 October 2017, challenged only by Didier Guillaume and Éliane Assassi.

CandidateGroupVotes%
Gérard Larcher LR22370.35
Didier Guillaume SOC7924.92
Éliane Assassi CRCE154.73
Electors348100.00
Abstentions51.44
Votes34398.56
Blank votes247.00
Null votes20.57
Expressed votes31792.42

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Sénatoriales 2017 - découvrez les candidats dans votre circonscription". Sénat. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
  2. "Liste et composition par groupe politique avant renouvellement" (PDF). Sénat. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
  3. "Liste des sénateurs par groupes politiques". Sénat. Retrieved 3 October 2017.