France

Senate

Political system
Presidential-Parliamentary
Structure of parliament
Bicameral
IPU membership
Yes

About parliament

Basic information such as the official name of parliament and details of its structure and leadership. Also includes the current breakdown of MPs by sex and age, and provisions for quotas and reserved seats.

Parliament name
Parlement (Parliament)
Chamber name
Sénat (Senate)
Structure & status of parliament
Upper chamber
Parliamentary term (years)
6

Notes: Parliamentary term: 6 years; one half of the membership is renewed every three years

IPU membership

Affiliation periods
from 1889
IPU Geopolitical Group/s
Twelve Plus Group

Speaker

Official title
President of the Senate
Speaker
Gérard Larcher (Male)
Date of birth: 14 Sep 1949
Term
01 Oct 2014
Additional information

Elected on 1 Oct. 2014, re-elected on 2 Oct. 2017, 1 Oct. 2020 and on 2 Oct. 2023.

Speaker terms

Click for historical data

Secretary general

Official title
Secretary General of the Senate
Secretary General
Eric Tavernier (Male)
Term
31 Mar 2020
Notes

31 March 2020 -

Official title
Secretary General of the Questor's office
Secretary General
Marianne Bay (Female)
Term
07 Nov 2018
Notes

Appointed on 7 Nov. 2018.

Members

Statutory number of members
348

Notes: Indirect election by popularly chosen departmental electoral colleges.

Principal mode of designation of members
Indirectly elected
Indirectly elected members
348
Current number of members
348
Men
222
Women
126
Percentage of women
36.2%
Statutory number of members per country
925
Population (in thousands)
66,439
Inhabitants per parliamentarian
71,826

Age

Data on the age of parliamentarians is collected at the start of the legislature, following the most recent elections. This data is not updated during the legislature, except when parliament notifies the IPU of a change in the youngest or oldest member.

Average age of all members
59.9
(2023-10)
Youngest member
Mathilde Ollivier (Female)
Youngest member (years)
29
Oldest member
Jean-Marie Vanlerenberghe (Male)
Oldest member (years)
84
Number of members, by age (2023-10)
Breakdown of members by age and gender
18 - 20 21 - 30 31 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 60 61 - 70 71 - 80 81 - 90 91 and over Totals per gender
Male 0 1 10 11 20 56 88 34 2 0 222
Female 0 1 4 6 12 48 47 8 0 0 126
Totals per age interval 0 2 14 17 32 104 135 42 2 0 348
Total <= 45: 33 Total >= 46: 315
Percentage of members, by age
Age at the last election or renewal Overall Male Female
Percentage of MPs 30 years of age or younger
0.6% 0.3% 0.3%
Percentage of MPs 40 years of age or younger
4.6% 3% 1.4%
Percentage of MPs 45 years of age or younger
9.5% 6% 3.2%

Reserved seats and quotas

There are reserved seats in parliament for certain groups
No
Electoral quota for women
Yes

Notes: Legislated Candidate Quota. The principle of equal access is enshrined in the Constitution. There should be alternation of male and female candidates. The difference between the number of candidates of each gender cannot be greater than 1.

Sources: Constitution, Articles 1(2), 3 and 4. Electoral Code, Articles L300 (1) and L299 (1).

Youth quota
No

Links to additional information

Parliamentary website
List of members
Rules of procedure/Standing Orders
Constitution

Historical data for IPU membership

Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No