Senate (French Third Republic)

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Senado (French Third Republic)

Sénat de la Troisième République
French Third Republic
Flag of France (1794-1815, 1830-1958).svg
Flag of France
Type
Type
History
Established8 March 1876
Disbanded31 May 1942
Preceded by National Assembly of 1871 (1871–1876)
Succeeded by Constituent Assembly of 1945
Leadership
President of the Republic
14 presidents: first: Adolphe Thiers, last: Albert Lebrun
Senate President
15 presidents: first: Gaston d'Audiffret-Pasquier, last: Jules Jeanneney
Structure
Seats300
Senat 1938.svg
Meeting place
Royal Opera of Versailles, then Palais du Luxembourg from 3 November 1879, Bordeaux from 14 June 1940, and Vichy from 2 July 1940
Constitution
Constitutional Laws of 1875

The Senate under the Third Republic was one of two legislative bodies, alongside the Chamber of Deputies, established by the Constitutional Laws of 1875 on 24 and 25 February 1875. It operated as the upper house in a strict bicameral system, where both chambers held equal legislative powers. Laws required identical approval from both chambers, with the Chamber of Deputies taking precedence only in initiating financial legislation. However, the President of the Republic needed the Senate's consent to dissolve the lower house. [1]

Contents

Politically, the Senate's creation was a compromise between monarchists (divided between Orléanists and Legitimists) and republicans in the National Assembly. Republicans agreed to a conservative upper house in exchange for monarchist support for the Republic. [2]

Composition

The Senate initially consisted of 300 senators, with a minimum age of 40. Of these, 225 were elected indirectly by departmental electoral colleges, comprising deputies, general councilors, arrondissement councilors, and one representative per municipal council. Their term lasted nine years, with one-third renewable every three years. The remaining 75 were "life senators" chosen from the National Assembly and later co-opted by the Senate upon vacancies. Before its dissolution on 31 December 1875, the National Assembly appointed these 75 life senators between 9 November and 21 December, predominantly selecting republicans (58 of 75) despite the chamber's monarchist leanings. [3]

The first election occurred on 30 January 1876, coinciding with the Chamber of Deputies election campaign. Conservatives (Catholics, Bonapartists, and counter-revolutionaries) narrowly secured a majority with 151 seats against 149 for republicans and the far left. The Duke Gaston d'Audiffret-Pasquier was elected Senate President, but moderates from both sides soon collaborated to shape public policy, aligning with the framers' intentions. [3]

Evolution

During the 16 May 1877 crisis, the Senate, consulted by President MacMahon, approved the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies on 22 June 1877 by a vote of 149 to 130, formalized by MacMahon on 25 June 1877. [4]

The first partial renewal on 5 January 1879 was a significant defeat for conservatives, with republicans gaining a lead of over 40 seats (174 to 126). The new president, Louis Martel, was a moderate republican. The republican shift in both chambers pressured the Dufaure ministry to purge the civil service, contributing to MacMahon's resignation. [4]

The 1884 constitutional revision abolished life senators (effective upon their deaths) and expanded the electoral college to favor urban communes. The last life senator, Émile de Marcère, died in 1918. In the first two decades, radicals repeatedly proposed abolishing the Senate. However, its moderation helped counter Boulangism, leading radicals to abandon their calls for its suppression. [4]

Constitutional crisis

Under the Constitution, ministers were collectively accountable to both chambers. Until 1890, governments typically resigned only after no-confidence votes in the Chamber of Deputies. However, the Tirard government resigned after a Senate no-confidence vote in 1890, though this was more a pretext than a substantive rebuke. [5]

In 1885, Jules Ferry argued: "In all free nations and parliamentary constitutions, the power to make or break ministries belongs to only one of the two chambers." This issue divided jurists and politicians until 1896, when the Senate, hostile to the Bourgeois government for its left-leaning policies, refused to resign despite three adverse votes. The Senate then blocked military funding for repatriating the Madagascar expeditionary force, forcing Bourgeois's resignation. This precedent established the Senate's role in governmental instability, particularly after World War I. [2]

High Court

The Senate could serve as a High Court for cases involving treason or malfeasance by the President or threats to state security, inheriting this role from the Chamber of Peers. It judged cases against Paul Déroulède in 1899, Louis Malvy in 1918, and Joseph Caillaux in 1920. [6]

Senatorial elections

Except for the initial 1876 election, which selected the first 225 elected senators (with 75 life senators appointed by the National Assembly in December 1875), senatorial elections renewed one-third of the seats every three years. [7] Due to World War I, Series B and C elections (scheduled for 1915 and 1918) were postponed by laws of 24 December 1914 and 31 December 1917. [8] After the 7 July 1929 law, elections occurred in mid-October before the mandate's expiration, typically in January. [9]

Senatorial ElectionsMunicipal Elections
(Electoral College)		Renewal
30 January 187622 and 29 September 1874Full
5 January 18796 and 13 January 1878Series B
8 January 18826 and 13 January 1878Series C
25 January 18854 and 11 May 1884Series A
5 January 18884 and 11 May 1884Series B
4 January 18916 and 13 May 1888Series C
7 January 18941 and 8 May 1892Series A
3 January 18973 and 10 May 1896Series B
28 January 19003 and 10 May 1896Series C
4 January 19036 and 13 May 1900Series A
7 January 19061 and 8 May 1904Series B
3 January 19093 and 10 May 1908Series C
7 January 19123 and 10 May 1908Series A
11 January 192030 November and 7 December 1919Series A/B/C
9 January 192130 November and 7 December 1919Series A
6 January 192430 November and 7 December 1919Series B
9 January 19273 and 10 May 1925Series C
20 October 19295 and 12 May 1929Series A
16 October 19325 and 12 May 1929Series B
20 October 19355 and 12 May 1935Series C
23 October 19385 and 12 May 1935Series A

The series covered metropolitan departments alphabetically, plus overseas departments:

Senate presidents

Loubet, Fallières, Doumergue, Doumer, and Lebrun were elected President of the Republic during their Senate presidency. [12]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Le Sénat sous la IIIe République". Sénat (in French). Archived from the original on September 11, 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  2. 1 2 Mayeur, Jean-Marie (1975). La vie politique sous la Troisième République [Political Life under the Third Republic] (in French). Paris: Le Seuil. p. 445. ISBN   9782020067775.
  3. 1 2 Berstein, Gisèle (2005). Le Sénat sous la IIIe République [The Senate under the Third Republic] (in French). Sénat. Archived from the original on February 13, 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 Lejeune, Dominique (1994). La France des débuts de la IIIe République 1870-1896 [France in the Early Days of the Third Republic 1870-1896] (in French). Paris: Armand Colin. p. 48. ISBN   978-2-200-21479-1.
  5. ↑ Joly, Bertrand (2014). Histoire politique de l'affaire Dreyfus [Political History of the Dreyfus Affair] (in French). Paris: Fayard. p. 140. ISBN   978-2-213-67720-0.
  6. ↑ Shapiro, Stephen J. (2005). The French Senate as High Court: Political Judging in the Third Republic. Cambridge University Press. pp. 45–67. ISBN   978-0521847896.
  7. ↑ Martin, Jean-Pierre (1998). The French Senate: Its History and Function. Presses Universitaires de France. pp. 23–25. ISBN   978-2130498728.
  8. ↑ Dupont, Claude (2014). "Impact of World War I on French Senatorial Elections". Journal of Modern European History. 12 (3): 345–360. doi:10.17104/1611-8944_2014_3_345.
  9. ↑ "Loi n° 77-729 du 7 juillet 1977 relative à l'élection des représentants au Parlement européen" [Law No. 77-729 of July 7, 1977, on the election of representatives to the European Parliament]. legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved July 1, 2025.
  10. ↑ Bertrand, Luc (2001). Colonial Administration and French Senatorial Elections. Éditions du Seuil. pp. 89–94. ISBN   978-2020481236.
  11. ↑ "Série C: Départements et territoires couverts" [Series C: Departments and territories covered]. legifrance.gouv.fr (in French). Archived from the original on March 6, 2021. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  12. 1 2 Garrigues, Jean (2010). Le Sénat de la Troisième République (1875-1914). Réflexions sur une Chambre Méconnue [The Senate of the Third Republic (1875–1914). Reflections on a Little-Known Chamber](PDF) (in French). Assemblees et Parlements dans le monde.
  13. ↑ "Acte constitutionnel n°3 du 11 juillet 1940". MJP (in French). Archived from the original on April 26, 2001. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
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