| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Parlement / Parliament |
| Structure of parliament |
Bicameral |
| Chamber name (generic / translated) |
Sénat / Senate |
| Related chamber (for bicameral parliaments) |
Assemblée nationale / National Assembly
|
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
25 September 2011 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for half of the seats in the Senate upon the expiry of members' term of office. |
Until the renewal in 2004, senators had been elected for a nine-year term by using the A, B and C series for the renewal of one third of the Senate every three years. The term has been shortened to six years starting from the 2007 renewal. As a transitional measure to introduce the new 1 and 2 series, under which half of the Senate is renewed every three years, the senators' term, which would have normally expired in September 2007, 2010 and 2013, has been shortened or extended pending renewal in September 2008, 2011 and 2014 respectively (cf. law No. 2005-1562 of 15 December 2005).
The September 2011 elections were the first to be held under the new 1 and 2 series. A total of 170 senators were indirectly elected to serve a six-year term. One hundred and twelve of them were elected under the proportional representation system, while the remaining 58 members are elected under the majority system. The total number of senators has been increased from 343 to 348.
|
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 25 September 2011 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
|
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Socialist |
61
|
|
|
|
|
| Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) |
55
|
|
|
|
|
| Communist |
16
|
|
|
|
|
| Presidential Majority (MAJ) |
12
|
|
|
|
|
| Europe-Ecology-The Greens (VEC) |
10
|
|
|
|
|
| Other left wing parties |
6
|
|
|
|
|
| Other parties of the right |
5
|
|
|
|
|
| MODEM |
3
|
|
|
|
|
| Left Radical |
2
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
121
49
28.82%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Source:
Senate (01.01.2012, 01.01.2014)
http://www.senat.fr/senatoriales_2011/senatoriales_en_quelques_chiffres.html
http://www.senat.fr/senatoriales_2011/composition_apres_2t_definitifs.html |
Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
