Senatorial elections have been held on 24 September 2017 to renew 170 of 348 seats in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the e ...

of the

French Fifth Republic The Fifth Republic (french: Cinquième République) is France's current republican system of government. It was established on 4 October 1958 by Charles de Gaulle under the Constitution of the Fifth Republic.. The Fifth Republic emerged from ...

Organization

Senators concerned

Since 2011, the

French Senate The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. The French Senate is made up of 348 senators (''sénateurs'' a ...

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 Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.Pyrénées-Orientales Pyrénées-Orientales (; ca, Pirineus Orientals ; oc, Pirenèus Orientals ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean ...

), the departments of

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...

, four overseas departments (

Guadeloupe Guadeloupe (; ; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwadloup, ) is an archipelago and overseas department and region of France in the Caribbean. It consists of six inhabited islands— Basse-Terre, Grande-Terre, Marie-Galante, La Désirade, and the ...

Martinique Martinique ( , ; gcf, label=Martinican Creole, Matinik or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island and an Overseas department and region, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France. An integral part of ...

Réunion Réunion (; french: La Réunion, ; previously ''Île Bourbon''; rcf, label= Reunionese Creole, La Rényon) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas department and region of France. It is located approximately east of the island ...

, and

Mayotte Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore language, Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Bushi language, Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regi ...

), two overseas collectivities (

Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...

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 Savoie (; Arpitan: ''Savouè'' or ''Savouè-d'Avâl''; English: ''Savoy'' ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Southeastern France. Located in the French Alps, its prefecture is Chambéry. In 2019, Savoie had a population o ...

will be filled separately with a by-election also held on 24 September.

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. 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 The Corsican Assembly ( co, Assemblea di Corsica; french: L'Assemblée de Corse) is the unicameral legislative body of the territorial collectivity of Corsica. It has its seat at the , in the Corsican capital of Ajaccio. After the 2017 terri ...

designated under conditions set out within the electoral code, councillors of the

Guianese Assembly The Assembly of French Guiana (french: Assemblée de Guyane) is the regional legislature of French Guiana. It was first elected in 2015, replacing the General Council of French Guiana and the Regional Council of French Guiana. It was establ ...

, councillors of the

Martinican Assembly Martinique is an overseas Territorial collectivity of France, with the same political status as regions and departments in mainland France. The administrative centre of Martinique is located in Fort-de-France. During the referendum of 24 January ...

, 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.

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.

Results

Composition before renewal

Composition after renewal

Election of president

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

References

External links

Official website for the 2017 senatorial elections

Composition by political group before renewal

List of series 1 senators by constituency
{{French Senate 2017 elections in France

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

September 2017 events in France