France’s National Rally and its allies won a record 14 seats in Sunday’s Senate elections, according to an AFP tally. Nine RN senators were elected on Sunday, joining three elected in 2023 and two from ally Eric Ciotti’s Union of the Right for the Republic.

The party has cleared the 10-seat threshold needed to form its first official Senate caucus. That brings speaking time, committee places and public funding. Party president Jordan Bardella said RN senators will form a group with their UDR allies.

RN presidential candidate Marine Le Pen called the result an historic victory. She said the results had exceeded the party’s expectations.

Long-serving Republicans president Gerard Larcher, 77, is expected to be re-elected next week, so Senate leadership stays largely unchanged. French senators are elected by local officials for six-year terms, with half the 348-seat chamber renewed every three years.

The result lands ahead of a presidential election whose first round is scheduled for April next year.