The Senate is the upper house of the French Parliament, tasked with debating and voting on legislation alongside the National Assembly as well as scrutinizing government action. Under the French Constitution, it specifically represents local territorial communities and French citizens living abroad, with the Senate President serving as acting President of the Republic in the event of an executive vacancy. While bicameralism in France dates back to the Council of Ancients in 1795 and Napoleon's Conservative Senate in 1799, the modern Senate was established in 1958 with the founding of the Fifth Republic.