| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Parlement / Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
26 September 2004 |
| Timing and scope of renewal |
Elections were held for one-third of the seats in the Senate on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. |
On 26 September 2004 nearly 52
000 grands électeurs voted to fill a third of the seats in the French Senate. At stake were the 127 seats that were up for election in Group C
and one which had been left vacant following the resignation of a female senator from the Union pour un mouvement populaire (UMP) party. French senators are elected indirectly by the country's grands électeurs
who are elected officials such as deputies
senators and regional
general and municipal councillors.
On 30 July 2003 a law had updated the distribution of Senate seats taking into consideration the 1999 census results. It had called for the addition of 25 seats
with 10 to be added in 2004
another 10 in 2007 and five in 2010.
As a result of this vote
the UMP
the largest of the parties on the right
lost its absolute majority
with a net loss of eight seats leaving it with 154 of the 331 seats in the new Senate. Parties on the left had a net gain of 13 seats (giving them a total of 128 out of 331). The Socialist Party (PS) was the big winner
as it gained nine seats
bringing the number of socialists in the Senate to 91. The Greens gained three seats
and the Communist Party gained two. The parties on the right nevertheless maintained their overall majority.
Of the 128 seats that were up for election
71 were filled by newcomers.
On 1 October 2004
Mr. Christian Poncelet was re-elected as President of the Senate for a new three-year term.
|
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 26 September 2004 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
51'940
51'485 (99.12%)
692
50'793 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of votes |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Candidates |
Votes |
|
|
% |
|
|
| Union for the people's movement |
|
|
|
|
44.10 |
|
|
| Socialist Party (PS) |
|
|
|
|
23.60 |
|
|
| Union for French Democracy (UDF) |
|
|
|
|
9.40 |
|
|
| Communist Party (PC) |
|
|
|
|
8.70 |
|
|
| Other parties of the right |
|
|
|
|
5.50 |
|
|
| Other left wing parties |
|
|
|
|
3.90 |
|
|
| Green Party |
|
|
|
|
2.40 |
|
|
| Left Radical |
|
|
|
|
1.60 |
|
|
| Others |
|
|
|
|
0.80 |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Union for the people's movement |
56
|
|
|
|
|
| Socialist Party (PS) |
30
|
|
|
|
|
| Union for French Democracy (UDF) |
12
|
|
|
|
|
| Communist Party (PC) |
11
|
|
|
|
|
| Other parties of the right |
7
|
|
|
|
|
| Other left wing parties |
5
|
|
|
|
|
| Green Party |
3
|
|
|
|
|
| Left Radical |
2
|
|
|
|
|
| Others |
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
275
56
16.92%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
31 to 40 years
41 to 50 years
51 to 60 years
61 to 70 years
Over 70 years
|
1
32
130
119
49
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
| Educators |
85 |
| Salaried employees |
54 |
| Civil servants (incl. former) |
47 |
| Legal and other professionals |
42 |
| Medical professions |
31 |
| Agriculturists |
29 |
| Business/Trade/Industry |
23 |
| Unemployed |
20 |
|
| Comments |
| Source: Fench Senate (www.senat.fr) Last updated: 01 March 2005 |
See also Election archives