French Senate elections

Senators are elected in each department by an electoral college consisting of:

1. deputies and senators;
2. regional councillors of the departmental section for the department (as appropriate, advisers of the Corsican Assembly, councilors at the meeting of Guyana,[Note 1] counselors at the Martinique Assembly[Note 1]);
3. departmental councillors;
4. delegates of municipal councils or alternates to these delegates;[9][Note 2]
   • Local councils elect one of their members in municipalities with fewer than 9,000 inhabitants:
     • 1 delegate for municipal councils of 7 and 11 members (less than 500 inhabitants);
     • 3 delegates for the municipal councils of 15 members (less than 1500 inhabitants);
     • 5 delegates for the municipal councils of 19 members (less than 2500 inhabitants);
     • 7 delegates to the municipal councils of 23 members (less than 3500);
     • 15 delegates for 27 municipal councils and 29 members (less than 9000 inhabitants).[10]
   • In the communes of 9000 or more inhabitants, all councillors are representatives by law. In addition, in the municipalities of over 30,000 inhabitants, municipal councils elect additional delegates at 1 for every 800 inhabitants in excess of 30,000.[11] In practice, the additional delegates are often permanent, activists or supporters of political parties, employees of elected officials, relatives or friends.[12]

Senators are elected by an electoral college consisting of:

• In New Caledonia:
  1. MPs;
  2. Members of Provincial Assemblies;
  3. Delegates of municipal councils or substitutes for these delegates.
• In French Polynesia:
  1. MPs;
  2. Members of the Assembly of French Polynesia;
  3. municipal councilors or their substitutes.
• In Wallis and Futuna:
  1. MPs;
  2. Members of the Territorial Assembly.[13]

Senators are elected by an electoral college consisting of:

• From the department of Mayotte:
  1. MPs;
  2. general councilors;
  3. municipal councilors or their alternates.[14]
• From Saint-Barthélemy:
  1. MPs;
  2. territorial councilors.[15]
• In St. Martin:
  1. MPs;
  2. territorial councilors.[16]
• In Saint Pierre and Miquelon:
  1. MPs;
  2. territorial councilors;
  3. municipal councilors or their alternates.[17]

Since the law of 22 July 2013, senators representing French expatriates are elected by a panel formed from:

1. MPs elected by French expatriates;
2. Consular advisers;
3. Consular delegates.

In the event that a consular counselor or consular representative is also a member elected by French expatriates, a replacement is appointed him on his presentation, the President of the Assembly of French Citizens Abroad.[18]

The procedures for electing Senators are set in the Electoral Code. Being an elector has the same conditions as being a Senator, except that the minimum age is 24 years.[19]

Any Senate candidate must be a French national to run for these offices and "No one can be elected if he has not satisfied the obligations imposed by the Code of National Service" (translated),[20][21] adults subject to guardianship or trusteeship are ineligible.[22]

The office of senator can not be combined with that of an MP, a member of the European Parliament, a member of the French government, a member of the Constitutional Council, or of the French Economic, Social and Environmental Council.[23]

The office of Senator can not be combined with military service, or the exercise of more than one of the following offices: Regional Adviser, member of the Corsican Assembly, general councillor, councilor to Paris, or councillor of a town of at least 3500 inhabitants;[24] the constitutional ombudsman and Comptroller General of prisons are ineligible during their term of office;[25] Prefects of France are ineligible in any constituency included in whole or in part within the jurisdiction in which they hold or have held office for up to three years from the date of the poll[26] (non-exhaustive list).

A draft organic law presented by the Cabinet on April 3, 2013, seeks to prohibit the accumulation of local executive functions with the office of Deputy or Senator starting March 31, 2017.[27]

In departments where three[28] or fewer senators are elected, the election is a majority vote in two rounds. To be elected in the first round, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of votes cast and a number of votes equal to at least a quarter of registered voters. In the second ballot, a simple majority suffices. In case of a tie, the older candidate is elected.[29] Each candidate runs with a replacement of different gender.[30]

In departments where four[31] or more senators are elected, the election takes place using proportional representation following the rule of the highest average, without panachage or preferential voting. On each list, seats are allocated to candidates based on their order in the list.[32]

Electors are required to vote, a fine of 100 Euro must be paid in the event of an unjustified abstention. Delegates who voted, and voters of law who do not receive compensation for their duties receive a travel allowance.[33][34][35]

Senators whose seat becomes vacant due to death, accepting a position with the government, the Constitutional Council or Defender, or the extension beyond the six months of a temporary mission entrusted by the government are replaced. If Senator was elected by a majority vote, the elected replacement takes his or her place. In the case of proportional representation, the first unelected candidate from the same list as the Senator is the replacement[36]

In case of cancellation of the elections, in the event of a vacancy other than those mentioned above, the procedure is to hold elections within three months. It is not, however, preceded by any election in the year before partial election of the Senate.[37]