New Leadership and Positions Up for Grabs in Senate’s Internal Elections

This is the other campaign behind the senatorial campaign. After the vote on September 24, during which the electors will elect 170 senators, new internal elections will begin within the Luxembourg Palace. That of the President of the Senate, of course. Ditto at the head of political groups. Two of the current presidents are not running for re-election.

Other key positions are also coming into play, central places in parliamentary work. We are thinking in particular of committee chairs. The Republicans, who occupy most of them, will once again apply a point of their regulations. A rule according to which a parliamentarian cannot occupy the head of a committee for more than six years. Two committees are in this situation: the committee on foreign affairs, defense and armed forces (chaired since 2017 by Christian Cambon) and the committee on economic affairs (chaired since 2017 by Sophie Primas). A change is also to be expected in the Social Affairs Committee, since its current president Catherine Deroche has chosen not to run in the senatorial elections. The Republicans will have to nominate their candidates for the positions of the various presidencies on October 3.

Foreign Affairs Committee: the most contested

A prestigious commission given the role it plays in parliamentary diplomacy, the Foreign Affairs, Defense and Armed Forces Committee attracts envy. According to our information, four senators would like to chair it from next month. First of all, there are two of its members, Pascal Allizard and Cédric Perrin, two good experts on international and defense issues. Two other candidates, better known to the general public, also dream of taking over from Christian Cambon.

We are also talking about Roger Karoutchi, current first vice-president of the Senate, and currently sitting on the finance committee. Philippe Bas is also on the starting line. Quaestor of the Senate, the senator from La Manche is known, among other things, for having chaired the Law Commission from 2014 to 2020 and for having held the position of secretary general at the Élysée under Jacques Chirac.

Economic Affairs Committee: an uncertain duel

In the Economic Affairs Committee, two very complementary profiles are competing for the seat of Sophie Primas. Dominique Estrosi Sassone, LR senator for the Alpes-Maritimes and housing specialist, should try her luck, we are told internally. As does his colleague Daniel Gremillet, LR senator from Vosges, specialist in energy issues in particular.

Social Affairs Commission: a less open duel

It will also be necessary to decide between two contenders for Catherine Deroche’s position on the Social Affairs Committee, the committee which deals with issues related to work, solidarity and health. Two senators take their positions. On the one hand, Alain Milon, senator from Vaucluse Doctor, senator since 2004, he has already served as president between 2014 and 2020. Philippe Mouiller, in the middle of his second term, also wants to try his luck. Sensitive to issues related to disability, he is currently rapporteur for the recent fifth branch of Social Security, the fledgling autonomy branch. The premium for novelty should come into play. “The place is promised to Philippe. Alain has already practiced without unanimous approval,” confides a member of the LR group.

In other committees where the presidents have been serving for only three years, stability of direction is, theoretically, expected: this is the case in the Laws Committee (occupied by François-Noël Buffet, LR), the Business Committee European Union (Jean-François Rapin, LR), the Finance Committee (Claude Raynal, PS), the Culture Committee (Laurent Lafon, Centrist Union) and the Regional Planning Committee (Jean-François Longeot, Centrist Union ).

25 places within the Office

25 places are also at stake within the Office, the body which governs the organization of the Senate. In particular, there are eight vice-president positions, distributed between the groups, pro rata. They are the ones who assist Gérard Larcher, they chair sessions and they represent the institution during certain ceremonies.

There are also three positions of quaestors, those who manage the material and administrative aspects of the life of the Senate. And finally 14 secretaries, whose role is essential for voting operations during the sessions. The members of the Bureau will be appointed in a public meeting on October 4.