France’s National Rally secured enough seats in Sunday’s indirect Senate elections to establish its first parliamentary group in the upper house, marking a historic step for the party led by Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella.

The National Rally, known as the RN, entered the election with only three senators. The party gained at least nine additional seats, while members of Eric Ciotti’s Union of the Right for the Republic also won seats, bringing the allied bloc to roughly 14 senators and comfortably above the 10-seat threshold required to form a group.

Le Pen described the results as exceeding expectations, while Bardella called the creation of a Senate group a first in the history of the party. Bardella said the new group would give the RN a stronger platform to represent territories and communities that he said have often been overlooked in national politics.

The breakthrough gives the National Rally a formal presence in an institution where it previously had only a small number of individual senators. A parliamentary group provides additional procedural tools and speaking opportunities, giving the party greater ability to participate directly in Senate business.

The results also reflect the RN’s growing organization at the local level. French senators are not elected directly by the general public. Instead, they are chosen by an electoral college made up largely of mayors, municipal councilors and other local elected officials, making local political strength particularly important in Senate elections.

The broader balance of power in the Senate did not change dramatically. The Republicans remained the largest political force and were expected to retain their majority with centrist allies, although their number of senators declined from the previous chamber.

For the National Rally, however, the result represents a significant expansion of its institutional footprint. The party has spent years building support beyond its traditional strongholds, and the new Senate group provides another avenue for advancing its positions at the national level.

The development comes roughly seven months before France’s 2027 presidential election, in which Le Pen is seeking the presidency. Recent polling has placed her ahead in first-round preferences, although the Senate election itself was conducted through an indirect voting system and does not directly measure nationwide presidential support.

The creation of the Senate group marks the first time the National Rally has reached the threshold for formal caucus status in the upper chamber, adding a new institutional platform to the party’s growing presence in French politics.