Senate Presidency On April 28, 1959,
Gaston Monnerville a
senator from Guyane was elected
president of the Senate. Monnerville has been the highest-ranking black politician in French history, and if he was a candidate for reelection
in 1968, he could have become the first black
president of France the next year when President
Pompidou died. == List of senators elected by region ==