 He was president of the RPR grouping in the Senate 1993–2002, and of the UMP grouping in the Senate from December 2002 until January 2008, when he stated that for him, ""the hour of relief has come"", though he requested ""some time to hand over"".He was succeeded by Henri de Raincourt.On 16 January 2008, following the death of Serge Vinçon, he was nonetheless elected President of the Senate’s Commission on Foreign Affairs, and reelected on 8 October 2008.