Marine Le Pen’s National Rally won enough seats in Sunday’s French Senate election to form its first parliamentary group in the upper house, French media reported based on near-final results. The vote covered 178 of the chamber’s 348 seats; official results are due Monday.
The party previously held three Senate seats, below the 10 required to form a group. The new status gives it more speaking time, the right to question the government and a role in setting the Senate agenda.
The gains were helped by support from a new right-wing splinter party led by Éric Ciotti. The result will bolster Le Pen as she prepares for next year’s presidential election, but she has appealed a conviction for embezzling EU funds that an appeals court upheld in July. Depending on when the Court of Cassation rules, she could be required to wear an electronic tag during the campaign, restricting her movement.
