Paris — France’s far-right has made gains in the first round of municipal elections in the southeast, but control of most major cities, including Paris, is undecided ahead of the upcoming runoff. The vote is widely seen as a test ahead of next year’s presidential election.
Voters cast ballots in nearly 35,000 villages, towns and cities, with approximately 93% electing their mayor in the first round, where one or two candidates who were not affiliated with any party ran.
According to the Ministry of Home Affairs, voter turnout was just over 57% over the 2020 polls held during the COVID-19 pandemic but significantly lower than in 2014.
Here’s what to know ahead of the second round on March 22:
Marine Le Pen’s right-wing national rally in Sunday’s first round continues to gain ground locally, particularly in southeastern France.
Party no. 2 man Louis Aliot won his stronghold of Perpignan by a landslide.
In Marseille, France’s second-largest city, incumbent left-wing mayor Benoît Payon finished the first round neck-and-neck with national rally contender Franck Alissio.
In Nice on the French Riviera, Eric Ciotti, a former conservative who launched his own right-wing party in 2024 and allied with National Rally, emerged as the favorite for the second round.
The right was well positioned in the southern cities of Nimes and the port of Toulon, an important naval base on the Mediterranean.
Thousands of municipal councils remain to be elected, including in the French capital Paris and other major cities.
In places where three or more candidates qualified for the runoff, negotiations to merge the lists, possibly giving them a better chance of winning, were to conclude before 6pm on Tuesday.
Alliances between the traditional left and the hard-left France Unbod, led by veteran firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon, have been heavily debated, showing strong results in several big cities.
France Unbod once allied with the Socialists, Greens and Communists. But the alliance collapsed as political rivals accused France’s intransigent politicians of tolerating anti-Semitic rhetoric. Some critics have blamed the hard left for stoking tensions after a right-wing extremist was beaten to death in Lyon last month.
A few more electoral pacts have been entered into on occasion.
In Lyon, France’s third-largest city, incumbent mayor Grégory Doucet, a Green, has unflinchingly joined France in a tight race against right-wing challenger Jean-Michel Aulas, a business owner and former football club president.
Anti-racism group SOS Racisme called for mainstream parties to unite to stop the far-right. “Any alliance should not be ruled out if it helps the party prevent new municipal controls,” group president Dominic Sopo said in a statement.
Le Pen’s party is weak in several major urban centres, with limited support in cities such as Paris and Lyon.
Left-wing candidate Emmanuel Grégoire has emerged as the frontrunner in the Paris mayoral race after the first round, but the race is expected to tighten in a runoff against conservative challenger Rachida Doti.
Doty, a key figure who until recently served as France’s culture minister, hopes to end 25 years of leftist leadership at City Hall. But his political career has also faced controversy. Dati is scheduled to stand trial in September on charges of corruption and influence peddling.
Grégoire, a former deputy to outgoing mayor Anne Hidalgo, heads a coalition including the Socialists, Greens and Communists. Grégoire said he would not make a deal with France Unbod, whose candidate qualified for the second round, a result that was highly unpredictable.
Outgoing Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, elected in 2014 and re-elected in 2020, decided not to seek a third term after leading the city through 2015 terrorist attacks and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
All eyes are already turning to the 2027 presidential race, as municipal elections are the last nationwide vote before France’s top jobs campaign and an occasion for all parties to shore up local bases. Under France’s constitution, President Emmanuel Macron cannot seek a third consecutive term.
In the northern port city of Le Havre, incumbent Mayor Edouard Philippe, who emerged first Sunday, is seeking a runoff victory that would strengthen his political status as a potential presidential contender. Philippe, a centre-right politician, was Macron’s prime minister for three years.
On the right, the national rally counts key mayoral positions to demonstrate the party’s ability to take the helm.
Marine Le Pen has long been considered a leading candidate for the presidency. But she was convicted of embezzlement last year and barred from holding public office for five years. She is appealing the verdict, with a key court decision expected on July 7. If she is barred from running, her protégé Jordan Bardella will replace her as the party’s candidate.
Several other high-profile politicians on the left and right have expressed presidential ambitions, but no one has yet emerged as a clear front-runner.
(tags to translate)socialism
