French far right wins 15 Senate seats, enough to form group for 1st time

France’s far-right National Rally (RN) and its ally, Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR), won 15 seats in Sunday’s Senate elections, giving them enough lawmakers to form a group in the upper house for the first time, Franceinfo reported on Monday. RN leader Marine Le Pen called the result a “historic victory.” The gains followed advances by the alliance in municipal elections and came less than seven months before France’s presidential election. The RN-UDR alliance won nine seats in the Mediterranean region, including seven in Provence-Alpes-Cote d’Azur, according to Franceinfo. RN lawmaker Sebastien Chenu said the result “completes our presence in all French institutions.” Under Senate rules, a political group must have at least 10 members. Forming one gives parties more speaking time and resources, as well as a greater role in parliamentary work. Read: Far-right win leaves Germany's Merz shaken as AfD plots path to power The right, centre and Socialist Party are expected to remain the Senate’s three largest forces. The conservative Republicans could lose about seven seats, according to a partial count cited by Franceinfo, with affiliations and some overseas results still pending. The election also brought left-wing France Unbowed (LFI) into the Senate for the first time, with Gabriel Amard winning a seat in the Rhone department. The party has also claimed a second senator, Marc Pere in Haute-Garonne, though his party affiliation remains disputed. 3 die as boat capsizes during English Channel crossing off France Three people died on Monday when a boat attempting to cross the English Channel to Britain capsized off the French coast, local authorities said. The boat capsized off Wissant in France's Pas-de-Calais region, the prefecture said, according to French broadcaster BFMTV. Authorities said they were still assessing the casualties and warned that the death toll could change. The prefecture was expected to provide further details at a news briefing later Monday.