Raffarin elected to Senate

FRENCH Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin won a seat in the Senate elections yesterday, a post that could be useful if persistent rumours that his days as government chief are numbered prove true.

Mr Raffarin, who has consistently fared poorly in popularity polls as prime minister, won the senate seat in his home district of Vienne in western France, the district office said. It is a post he held from 1995 until being named prime minister in 2002.