The Kyiv Independent Live in London: 
French far right gains ground in Senate months before presidential election
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France's National Rally (RN) party and its allies secured a record 14 seats in France's 348-seat Senate after Sept. 27 elections, for the first time crossing the threshold to form a caucus.
RN co-leader Marine Le Pen hailed the result as a "historic victory," mere months before France's presidential race in which she is a front-runner.
While the right-wing-dominated Senate is less influential than the French parliament's lower chamber — the National Assembly — the results underscore the growing popularity of the far right in France and elsewhere in Europe.
Local elected officials vote for half of the Senate every three years, with each senator serving a six-year term. The Senate shares legislative powers and represents France's local territorial communities.
The far-right party first entered the parliament's upper chamber in 2014. In the Sept. 27 vote, the RN won nine seats, adding to the three won in 2023.
Two seats were won by the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR) party, an RN ally that split from the conservative Republicans in 2024.
The RN leadership said their senators would form a parliamentary group with UDR representatives.
Commenting on the results, Le Pen declared that the party's "senators will play an essential role in the presidential campaign, carrying and defending the voice of local communities."
The anti-immigration, nationalist RN is France's most popular party and the strongest opposition force. Polling consistently shows Le Pen beating all rivals in the April 2027 presidential election.
Incumbent centrist President Emmanuel Macron will not run, as he is concluding his constitutionally permitted two consecutive terms.
The RN has long faced criticism over a favorable attitude toward Russia, an image the RN tried to shed after Moscow's all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Le Pen and RN co-leader Jordan Bardella recently lashed out at Moscow after its seizure of French and other European business assets in Russia. Both also said France should continue supporting Kyiv militarily but that Paris must scale back its financial support.
