The populist revolution rolls on – Le Pen gains 10 seats in Senate

THE so-called far right National Rally (RN) party of France and its allies have secured a historic victory in the Senate, sending yet another shot over the bow of globalist political forces who hide behind the political labels of left, centre left, moderate and centre right.

In France, a coalition of these forces currently rules in the nation’s National Assembly. We might call them the Uniparty or simply “the Blob” and relate them to the Liberal Party “moderates”, the Teals, the Greens and Labor who could potentially form an alliance to “protect Australia from the far right One Nation”.

Last weekend nine senators from Marine Le Pen’s party were elected, while two more were chosen from their allies in the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR) party. With the three seats the RN won in 2023, the caucus now has a record 14 seats in the upper chamber of parliament.

The results will also be sending shockwaves through the halls of the European Union in Brussels – a bastion of the globalist left.

Le Pen, the party leader and presidential for next year’s election, commented: “The results go beyond what we could have hoped for; the breakthrough is widespread, confirming the acceleration of the National Rally’s establishment across the entire territory.”

Now with more than 10 Senate seats, Le Pen’s party will for the first time be able to form an official bloc with the UDR in the Senate. However they are still blocked by the coalition of right, centre and left-wing socialists.

French senators serve a six-year term and are indirectly elected by an electoral college made up of 172,600 local officials, including members of both houses of parliament, regional and departmental councillors, and municipal councillors. As with the Australian Senate, half of the 348-seat upper chamber come up for election every three years.

The senators make up half of the French parliament – the other being the National Assembly (similar to our House of Representatives), which is elected by the public and is relied on by the government to pass legislation, while senators scrutinise, debate and amend proposed new laws.

The centre-right Republican party and its Uniparty allies will retain a majority with 128 seats, down from 134.

A “political expert” cited by The Independent said it was a “good omen” that the far left La France Insoumise (LFI) won its first Senate seat and that the party leader, “the charismatic Jean-Luc Mélenchon”, will also stand in the presidential poll in 2027.

The Independent admitted that while the appointments do not change the National Assembly, where laws are made, and will not dramatically upset the makeup of the Senate, “they do, however, point to a shift in support for far-right parties among elected officials in the lead-up to the presidential elections in April.”

A poll released two weeks ago showed Le Pen maintained her lead for the first round of the presidential election, while far-left rival Mélenchon was second in most tested scenarios, the Independent reported.

Macron’s former prime minister Édouard Philippe is the only centre-right candidate to come ahead of Mélenchon in one of the scenarios tested, and to tie with him in another. The other candidates would finish behind Mélenchon in all scenarios.

Former French socialist president Francois Hollande said on Monday that he might yet decide to run for president in 2027, but only if he sees a real chance of winning.

“Running for the presidency is not a decision to be taken lightly, all the more so for a former head of state like myself,” Hollande told Italian daily La Repubblica.

Dr Lees assessed it was still more likely that Philippe would emerge as the centrist challenger to take on Le Pen or Mélenchon, noting Hollande’s reputation is still “marred by a disappointing term of office”, failing to tackle systemic issues in the economy.

“At this stage, Hollande would need to stand as an independent candidate outside the Socialist party’s umbrella, which may well prove too challenging.”

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