Rassemblement National wins Senate seats amid defamation lawsuit

The far-right Rassemblement National (RN) achieved a significant victory in the French Senate elections, increasing its number of senators fourfold to 15 seats. This result allows the party, led by Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella, to form a parliamentary group in the upper house alongside its allies from L'Union des Droites pour la République, who secured three seats. Le Pen described the outcome as a “historic victory” and a major milestone ahead of the presidential elections scheduled for April 18.

Simultaneously, RN President Jordan Bardella has filed a defamation lawsuit against the investigative news site Mediapart. The legal action follows reports alleging that Bardella sent antisemitic private messages over a decade ago when he was a young militant. Bardella has dismissed these claims as “gross falsehoods” and an attempt to “destabilize” his political campaign. Marine Le Pen has also condemned the reports as a “denigration campaign.”