The French National Elections

The Senatorial Elections in January

The many important developments in French politics since last January have invalidated to a certain extent the significance of the Senatorial elections which took place on January 6 but they form a useful starting point for a study of the prospects of the French national elections which will take place on May 11. The Senatorial elections were for the renewal or one third of the Senate, numbering 116 seats. Most of the candidates stood for reelection. M. Poincare was returned with an overwhelming majority from his constituency. The following table shows the composition of the Senate before and after the elections.

The practically unchanged character of the Senate was a great victory for M. poincare but it should be borne in mind that the Senate does not represent the state of mind of the country as truly as does the Chamber of Deputies. Senators are elected under a system of indirect voting by means of an electoral college, and Government pressure is readily exercised through the prefects of the Departments on the delegates to the electoral college who are relatively few in number and known long be