The senatorial elections intended to renew half of the upper house were marked on Sunday, September 27 by an ecological breakthrough and good resistance from The Republic on the march in an assembly where the Republican right remains in the majority.

This evening, the senatorial majority of the right and the center is reinforced.

On October 1, I will present to my colleagues my candidacy for the presidency of the @Senate with a project to contribute to the vitality of democracy and restore the confidence that our country lacks so much.

- Gérard Larcher (@gerard_larcher) September 27, 2020

According to the first results communicated at the beginning of the evening, the right has strengthened its anchoring and the Socialist group should remain in second position.

The right confirmed

"Tonight, the senatorial majority of the right and of the center is reinforced," wrote in a statement the President Les Républicains (LR) of the Senate, Gérard Larcher, who will be a candidate for re-election next Thursday.

In the wake of their good score in the spring municipal elections, environmentalists should be able to reform the group they lost three years ago, by exceeding the threshold of ten elected.

"The group is in sight," the national secretary of Europe Ecology-The Greens (EELV), Julien Bayou, told Reuters, ahead of negotiations scheduled for this week.

"Congratulations to the 6 EELV elected officials who are joining the #Senate and will help form a green group," said MEP Yannick Jadot on Twitter.

Congratulations to the 6 elected @EELV who join the #Senate and will help form a green group!

- Yannick Jadot (@yjadot) September 27, 2020

LR group president Bruno Retailleau was reelected in Vendée, as was La République en Marche group boss François Patriat, narrowly reelected for six years in Côte d'Or.

"It was a very difficult fight, you know I was not going to win at all," François Patriat, who is close to Emmanuel Macron, said at the announcement of the results.

Of the 23 LREM senators, ten put their mandate back into play this Sunday in an unfavorable context for the power in place, defeated in the last municipal elections.

"We should at least be at the same level, or even a little more," said Senator LREM from Hauts-de-Seine André Gattolin on Public Senate.

On the side of the members of the government, the Minister of Overseas Sébastien Lecornu was elected in the Eure and the Secretary of State for Tourism Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne was re-elected in the Yonne.

The two men will remain in government and will send their respective deputies to the Luxembourg Palace.

Mainly on the right since 2014, the Senate is renewed for half every three years.

About 87,000 electorate voters - mostly city councilors - were called to the polls on Sunday to nominate 172 senators out of a total of 348.

With Reuters

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