2011 French Senate election
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165 of 348 seats in the Senate 175 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A Senate election was held for 165 of the 348 seats in the
Results
Political groups | 2004 | 2008 | 2011 | |||||
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Union for a Popular Movement (Union pour un mouvement populaire)
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UMP | 155 | 7 | 151 | 4 | 132 | 19 | |
Centrist Union (Union centriste)
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UC | 33 | 20 | 29 | 4 | 31 | 2 | |
Presidential Majority | 188 | 27 | 180 | 8 | 163 | 17 | ||
Socialist (Socialiste)
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SOC | 97 | 14 | 116 | 19 | 130 | 14 | |
Communist, Republican and Citizen (Communiste, Républicain et Citoyen)
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CRC | 23 | 0 | 23 | 0 | 21 | 2 | |
European Democratic and Social Rally (Rassemblement démocratique et social européen)
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RDSE | 16 | 3 | 17 | 1 | 17 | 0 | |
Europe Écologie–The Greens (Europe Écologie – Les Verts)
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EELV | 10 | 10 | |||||
Union of the Left | 118 | 14 | 139 | 19 | 178 | 22 | ||
Non-Registered (Non-Inscrits)
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NI | 7 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 7 | 0 | |
Total | 331 | 13 | 343 | 12 | 348 | 5 | ||
Source: Public Senat |
Swing to the left
Prior to the 2011 election, the French Senate had been under the majority control of right or centre-right parties since the start of the Fifth Republic. Following left-wing gains in the senatorial elections of 2004 and 2008, the 2011 elections saw the Senate coming under the control of left-wing parties such as the Socialist Party, who gained around 24 new seats.[3][4][5][6]
Senate Presidency
After the election, the incumbent
Interpretations and potential consequences
The election was seen[by whom?] in many circles as a referendum on the incumbent French president Nicolas Sarkozy, whose popularity had been in decline over the preceding months.[citation needed] François Hollande, a Socialist politician considered to be a leading contender for the 2012 Socialist presidential nomination, pointed out that the defeat meant the Sarkozy's incumbent Union for a Popular Movement party had lost seats in every election since he took office in 2007.[7] UMP politicians described the election results as "a serious warning for [their] party".[9]
Socialist control of the French Senate would prevent Sarkozy from passing a balanced budget constitutional amendment, which requires three-fifths of the vote from the combined French Parliament. It would also enable the Socialists to launch commissions of inquiry into, for instance, possible political corruption allegations.[7]
The German news magazine Der Spiegel, looking at September 2011 polls and forward to the May 2012 presidential election, observed that "the Socialist Party – still licking its wounds after a sex scandal brought down their great hope Dominique Strauss-Kahn – would win ... if it were held today." It also opined that Sarkozy's "foreign policy actionism" in Libya – including a 15 September visit to Tripoli with David Cameron[10] – and "proposals for a quick resolution to the Middle East conflict at the United Nations"[11] just prior to the election were not "able to perceptively increase his popularity".[12]
References
- ^ a b c The official candidates for the Senate Presidency
- ^ Louet, Sophie (25 September 2011). "French left seizes Senate majority, hurts Sarkozy". Reuters. Retrieved 25 September 2011.
- ^ "Renforcée par les régionales, la gauche vise plus que jamais le Sénat". Retrieved 29 September 2011.
- ^ "Le chef de file des sénateurs PS entrevoit un Sénat à gauche en 2011". Le Monde. France. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
- ^ "Après les cantonales, la gauche lorgne le Sénat". 20 Minutes. France. 20 March 2008. Archived from the original on 20 March 2012. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
- ^ "French left marks historic Senate vote victory". The Boston Globe. 25 September 2011. Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
- ^ a b c Samuel, Henry (26 September 2011). "French Senate's swerve to the Left: What it means". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
- ^ Fabio Benedetti-Valentini, "French Senate Elects Jean-Pierre Bel First Socialist President", Bloomberg, 2 October 2011.
- ^ "Sarkozy plots strategy after French Senate loss". Boston Globe. Retrieved 29 September 2011. [dead link]
- ^ Smith, David, "Cameron and Sarkozy meet Libya's new leaders in Tripoli", The Guardian, 15 September 2011 11.12 EDT. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
- ^ "Sarkozy proposes Palestinian compromise at UN", euronews.net, 21 September 2011 19:54 CET. Retrieved 28 September 2011.
- ^ Allen, Kristen, "The World from Berlin: 'Sarkozy Has Lost the Heart of France'", Der Spiegel, 27 September 2011. The quote in the headline came from a "[c]enter-left daily Süddeutsche Zeitung" comment on the election. Retrieved 28 September 2011.