Former minister Annick Girardin, Minister of the Sea between 2020 and 2022, was elected with 20 votes out of 39 in the Senate elections on Sunday September 24 in Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon. The former MP, Minister of the Civil Service and State Secretary for Development and Francophonie under François Hollande, then Foreign Minister under Emmanuel Macron between 2017 and 2020, is elected to the upper house of Parliament for the first time. Follow our live stream.
>> Senatorial elections: The article you should read to understand the vote
Foreign Minister Sonia Backès defeated in New Caledonia. The majority candidate was defeated in the second round by independent Robert Xowie, according to the results of the High Commission of the Republic in New Caledonia. The dissident Les Républicains, Georges Naturel, was also elected. “This is an extremely good omen,” responded Jean-Luc Mélenchon on X (formerly Twitter), welcoming “a historic Senate vote in New Caledonia.”
Guidance for elections. No fewer than 170 seats, or a little less than half of the Senate, will be extended for six years at the end of this very special election day, which will be decided by indirect universal suffrage. In total, more than 1,800 candidates presented themselves.
THE “Voters” called for the election. Not all French people registered on the electoral lists can take part in the Senate elections, but only 78,000 of the 162,000 “major voters”, i.e. the deputies, senators, regional, departmental and, above all, local councilors who represent the overwhelming majority of the electorate.
A total of 45 constituencies are affected. The départements in which the 170 seats at stake in these Senate elections are located range from 37 (Indre-et-Loire) to 66 (Pyrénées-Orientales), to which are added the eight départements of Ile-de-France, six Overseas territories, added and six seats for senators from French people abroad.
Depending on the department, a different voting method. The election method varies depending on the number of elected officials a department sends to the Senate. Between one and two, the result of the first round will be announced in the late morning before a possible second round takes place in the afternoon. In divisions where three or more senators must be elected, single-pass proportional list voting applies, with results announced at the end of the day.