French voters go to the polls in municipal elections ahead of the 2027 presidential election

Paris — Voters across France from small villages to big cities go to the polls on Sunday in the first round of municipal elections to choose leadership teams – a test of political parties’ electoral machinery ahead of next year’s presidential election to succeed President Emmanuel Macron.

While largely focused on grassroots concerns, the polls will be scrutinized for any early clues about how the parties may fare in the 2027 presidential race, when Macron’s second and final term as president ends. The second round will be held on March 22.

The focus is on major races in major cities, including Paris. Incumbent Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo, elected in 2014 and up for re-election in 2020, decided against trying for a third term after leading the French capital through the trauma of extremist attacks in 2015 and the boom of the Paris Olympics in 2024.

In Marseille, France’s second-largest city, elections indicated a tight race between incumbent left-wing mayor Benoît Payon and right-wing National Rally party candidate Franck Alisseau and his municipal team.

National Rally performances in municipal races will be studied for possible indications of whether Marine Le Pen’s party is gaining momentum in the 2027 run-up, but could bar her from challenging again for the presidency.

Last year, a French court found Le Pen guilty of embezzlement and banned her from seeking public office for five years. She is the daughter of Jean-Marie Le Pen, the polarizing founder of the far-right National Front, who has been convicted multiple times of inciting anti-Semitism, discrimination and racist violence.

Marine Le Pen is hoping the appeals court will clear her in a major ruling scheduled for July 7. A ruling against Le Pen could derail her presidential ambitions.

More than 904,000 candidates are on the ballot on Sunday for municipal posts in approximately 35,000 villages, towns and cities. In places where the result remains undecided, a second round of voting will determine the final results.