FRANCE
Parliamentary Chamber: Sénat

ELECTIONS HELD IN 1995

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Chamber:
  Sénat


Dates of elections / renewal (from/to):

  24 September 1995


Purpose of elections:

  Elections were held for one-third of the seats in the Senate on the normal expiry of the members' term of office. This time, 117 seats were renewed.


Background and outcome of elections:

  In the 1995 triennial elections, 117 seats were up for renewal; they were contested by 696 candidates. While polling results did not significantly alter the political make-up of the Senate, the left as a whole and the Socialists in particular benefited from their results in the municipal elections of 1989 and 1995, with the latter reinforcing their second-ranking position. Among the right-wing groups, only the Rally for the Republic (RPR) gained seats. The total of independent Senators remained at eight.

Altogether 49 Senators were re-elected and a record high of 68 entered the Upper House for the first time, as the average age of members became markedly younger. On 2 October, Mr. René Monory (Centrist Union) was re-elected Senate President by a wide margin.

STATISTICS

Round no 1: Distribution of seats  
Political Group Total Gain/Loss
Rally for the Republic (RPR) 94 +2
Socialist Party 75 +8
Centrist Union 59 -4
Union of Republicans and Independents 46 -2
Democratic, Social and European Rally 24 -4
Communist Party 15 =
Unattached 8 =

Distribution of seats according to sex:  
Men: 303
Women: 18

Distribution of seats according to age:  
35-40 years 1
41-50 years 47
51-60 years 103
61-70 years 109
71-80 years 59
Over 80 years 2


Distribution of seats according to profession:

 
Teaching 12%
Medical professions 16%
Salaried employees 13%
Agricultural professions 12%
Commerce and industry 11%
Legal and liberal professions 9%
Civil servants 12%
Undeclared 6%


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Copyright © 1995 Inter-Parliamentary Union