Senatorial results 2026. Mathieu Darnaud (LR): “These elections are a good sequence for us”

You were at the head of a group of 131 senators. Your group remains the largest but you lose a few senators. Is this a disappointment?

“It’s not a disappointment because it’s the translation of the municipal elections. It’s actually a very good score because it confirms our presence, and we are gaining seats in departments where we did not expect any, such as Creuse or Aube. In Drôme, there are now two LR senators when there were 3 left-wing senators a few years ago. These senatorial elections are therefore rather a good sequence for us. »

The far-right group RN-UDR is forming to your detriment, particularly in the Alpes-Maritimes. Does this worry you?

“This is wrong: we are consolidating part of our places, including in the South-East and in Vaucluse. So it is not to the detriment of the Les Républicains group, it is to the detriment of all the groups in the Senate. »

Some new UDR-RN elected officials are former LR. Is this a bad signal?

“It’s a development that I regret. That doesn’t mean we’re going to cry tears of blood. On the contrary, we are resolutely committed. There is no reason to tremble on our bases and our establishment confirms the hopes that we can have regarding the presidential election. The RN and the UDR have fifteen seats out of 348! The voice of the senatorial majority is strengthened and we send a clear message. And we have an increased desire to exert political influence just a stone’s throw from the presidential election.

I hear the story told around the RN. I have another story, it is the reinforcement of the senatorial majority and it is the voice of the Republicans which will be strengthened by this sequence. »

As of Sunday evening, Eric Ciotti and Jordan Bardella reached out to LR senators. What do you answer them?

“What I always answer: there is no porosity between them and us. Yes, there have been personal adventures, but we are very clear: we do not agree with most of the proposals of the RN and the UDR and we do not entertain a common thought. We are fundamentally different. »

There are porosities in ideas. Bruno Retailleau has endorsed some of the RN’s proposals, particularly on immigration…

“On the regalian, he always carried these ideas with constancy. I observe that Bruno Retailleau, when he was Minister of the Interior, always had a unique voice which was not aligned with the RN. The RN wants to give the feeling that its ideas are patented. The reality is that we existed before the RN, we carried these subjects before the RN and we carry them, it seems to me, without demagoguery. We don’t wait for the RN to have ideas. The French also expect us to talk to them about their purchasing power, to tell them things concretely, not just to make rhetoric on very general themes without saying precisely what we are doing. »

In all renewable departments, we note an increase in RN votes, even when there are no local elected officials labeled RN. Is this pressure from the ground for the union of the rights?

“No, I analyze it as a push which sometimes responds to a form of anger, worry, annoyance. Very often, this is the way that some of our fellow citizens have found to express their desire for change. I have just spent three months in the campaign and I can testify that the mayors are fed up with having additional constraints every day.

One of the messages of this election is that we must be able to turn the table tomorrow. If we are able – mainly at the time of the presidential election, but also now through legislative initiatives – to show that we have heard this message, I am certain that we will be able to gain points. »

At the other end of the political spectrum, France Insoumise returns to the Senate. What do you think?

“We think this is a real danger for part of our democracy. And so we will continue to fight them. This will be an opportunity for LFI to show that this party is capable of going beyond its desire for conflict and public debate. During my three months of campaigning, I was able to see that the image of the National Assembly, particularly due to the attitude of rebellious France, is condemned by our fellow citizens and by the elected representatives of the territories. »