President of the Senate (France)

The President of the Senate presides over the upper house of the French Parliament.

He is the third highest-ranking state official, after the President of the Republic (for whom he acts as Interim President when necessary), and the Prime Minister, and before the President of the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament. As such, he has considerable powers of appointment.

In the Senate, he presides over plenary sessions and can influence the legislative process. He chairs the Senate Bureau and the Conference of Presidents, which is responsible for organizing legislative work.

The presidency of the Senate, colloquially known as "le plateau" (a term equivalent to "perch" for the presidency of the French National Assembly), takes its name from the rostrum where the presiding officer sits in the hemicycle.

The current President of the Senate is Gérard Larcher.