Paris (France) (AFP) – An ardent defender of bicameralism, a tireless man of compromise, Gérard Larcher faces a final challenge at the dawn of his sixth term as President of the Senate: to contain the unprecedented surge of the National Rally by establishing himself as an institutional “counter-power” in the upper house.

Published on: 09/30/2026 - 11:20

At 77, this Republican tenor is seeking a new three-year lease on the “plateau” on Thursday (3:00 p.m.), the seat reserved for the head of the High Assembly.

The senator from Yvelines is at ease there: he has already occupied it for 15 years, and continuously since 2014. His control over the institution promises to be as uncontested as ever, thanks to the assured votes of a very large majority of senators ranging from the right to the centrists, including Horizons.

This discreet man, much more at ease in the secret corridors of the Luxembourg Palace than on TV sets, has in fact been able to make himself indispensable over the years, not without sometimes fueling accusations of backwardness or opacity which the Senate is struggling to shake off.

But when it comes to negotiating, discussing and building, this strategist excels thanks to his listening skills and recognized experience, even beyond his political family.

“Incredible skill”

"He's a first-rate 'madré', attentive to everything, wanting to solve all problems. A character of incredible skill, who knows perfectly where he wants to go but who knows how to round things out," describes his first opponent, Patrick Kanner, president of the socialist group.

“When you arrive at the Senate, we give you a general anesthetic, we inject you with Larcher. Rule N.1: the president is always right. It’s all fear and roundness,” laughs a former LR senator.

The original Norman represents everything that the high assembly cherishes: continuity, roots, dialogue.

“Rarely in the life of our institutions, has a man embodied one of them so well. The Senate and Gérard Larcher, it is an almost obvious meeting,” affirms Bruno Retailleau, supported in his quest for the Élysée by Mr. Larcher.

But the announced constitution of an RN group of 15 members, a first, could well derail the train of senators of this influential elected official, a very firm supporter of a line "neither RN, nor LFI" and of the alliance of the right and the center.

“The discreet agreements in the corridors will now be made before the eyes of our 15 senators,” warned Marine Le Pen, mocking these elected officials who would have “grumbled” after the senatorial elections because “we should not disturb them during their nap”.

“The arrival of this group, at such a level, will profoundly disrupt the behavior of everyone. It is inevitable. The presidency of the Senate can no longer remain the same,” worries the president of the communist senators Cécile Cukierman.

“Safe haven”

Engaged with the young Gaullists in 1966, then with the RPR in 1976, formerly a veterinarian specializing in horse care and an inveterate hunting enthusiast, Gérard Larcher kept the motto of the Saumur cavalry school: "Forward, calm and straight".

“Gégé”, for short, will really need this formula to face the months ahead, while the RN promises to debauch in the LR ranks.

The Senate must remain the "assembly of peaceful debate", has already warned the patriarch of the upper house, ready to establish itself as an "indispensable counter-power in democracy".

Gérard Larcher has long embodied this counter-power against Emmanuel Macron, a president described as "vertical" and whose "distant and condescending attitude" he has often denounced. Particularly after the dissolution of 2024: “a brutal choice” announced by telephone “in one minute and a half”, regularly enrages this warm host with his incisive fork.

On the verge of being re-elected until 2029 - many observers imagine he will give up after that - he could come up against a completely different form of counter-power if Marine Le Pen accedes to the Elysée and tries to modify the Constitution via article 89, which requires the agreement of the upper house.

“The Senate is going to experience a moment of political rupture, we will have to speak with a clear voice. Larcher is the safe haven behind which everyone will have to line up,” analyzes constitutionalist Benjamin Morel. “Paradoxically, he has never been so little threatened in his position even though he is undoubtedly facing the greatest challenge of his political career.”

© 2026 AFP

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