Local mandates In 1976, Larcher joined the movement of young Gaullists, because he admired
Charles de Gaulle and supported the policy orientations of the founder of the
Fifth Republic. In the
1983 municipal election, he was elected Mayor of
Rambouillet, in
Yvelines. Two years later, he was elected regional councillor of
Île-de-France. On 28 September 1986, for the first time, Larcher was elected to be Senator for Yvelines, under the banner of the
Rally for the Republic (RPR). Aged 37, he was one of the youngest French Senators. Appointed Secretary of the Senate in 1989, he was re-elected as a Senator in 1995 and elected as Vice President of the Senate in 1997. In 2001, he was appointed as President of the Senate's Economic Affairs Commission.
Government minister In March 2004, after the defeat of the right in
regional elections, Larcher was appointed junior minister to the
minister of social affairs in the cabinet of
Jean-Pierre Raffarin. He retained his place in the government in June 2005, after the appointment of
Dominique de Villepin as prime minister. In May 2007, the new president,
Nicolas Sarkozy, suggested Larcher enter the government of
François Fillon as minister of agriculture, but Larcher declined and preferred to sit in the Senate. In the following months, he prepared his candidacy for President of the Senate, to succeed
Christian Poncelet. On 31 July 2008, he was declared a candidate for the UMP primary to elect the president of the Senate, against former prime minister
Jean-Pierre Raffarin. On 24 September, he was elected as the UMP's candidate for the presidency of the Senate with 78 votes, against 56 votes for Raffarin and 17 votes for Senator
Philippe Marini.
President of the Senate Larcher was elected as President of the Senate on 1 October 2008, receiving 173 votes against 134 votes for Socialist candidate
Jean-Pierre Bel. The left won a Senate majority in the
September 2011 Senate election, and Jean-Pierre Bel was elected as President of the Senate on 1 October 2011. He received 179 votes against 134 votes for Larcher, who was the right's candidate; a centrist,
Valerie Letard, received 29 votes. After the victory of the right in
September 2014 Senate elections, Larcher was again nominated for the post of President of the Senate by members of the UMP group, and he was elected as President of the Senate on 1 October 2014. ==Overview==