After the first round of local elections in France, Marine Le Pen’s right-wing Rassemblement National (RN) and the left-wing party La France Insoumise (LFI) claimed gains.
Mar 16, 2026, 3:44 amMar 16, 2026, 3:44 am
However, definitive counting results were not yet available in the evening. In the majority of municipalities and in practically all large cities where an absolute majority cannot be achieved, there will be a second round of voting next Sunday (March 22nd).
The socialist Emmanuel Gregoire said he was pleased with the initial results in a speech.Image: keystone
Almost 49 million people in the country were called to vote in which thousands of community representatives will be elected. They then appoint the mayor.
As of 5 p.m., voter turnout nationwide was 48.90 percent. In the previous local elections, which were organized in 2020 during the Corona pandemic, turnout at midday was 38.77 percent. President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte cast their votes in the northern French coastal town of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage.
A year before the next presidential election, in which Macron will no longer be able to run after two terms in office, the vote is also seen as the last major test of sentiment.
What is being watched with excitement is how many mandates the right-wing Rassemblement National (RN) can win, which, like President Macron’s Renaissance party, is struggling to gain local roots. France’s Greens in particular were able to score points in the 2020 local elections. They now fear a defeat.
The town halls of large cities are particularly hotly contested by parties. In Paris there were indications that the capital would remain in the hands of the socialists after Mayor Anne Hidalgo left office. According to projections, the socialist Emmanuel Grégoire ended up well ahead of the conservative challenger Rachida Dati. In France’s second largest city, Marseille, the Socialists could also remain at the helm – projections saw them just ahead of the Rassemblement National.
In Nice on the Côte d’Azur, however, projections saw the right-wing nationalist Eric Ciotti ahead of the current mayor Christian Estrosi from the conservative center camp. In Perpignan in the south of France, the only large city where the RN has already ruled, everything looked like mayor Louis Aliot would be re-elected in the first round.
Meanwhile, according to projections, there are signs of a surprising comeback in the Alsace metropolis of Strasbourg. The socialist Catherine Trautmann, who was mayor there from 1989 to 1997 and again from 2000 to 2001, came in first place in the first round of voting, just ahead of the conservative challenger Jean-Philippe Vetter. The previous mayor Jeanne Barseghian (Greens) only came in third place.
In the list elections, the parties are obliged to nominate an equal number of men and women as candidates in alternating order. In addition to French residents living in the country, residents from EU countries are also entitled to take part in local elections. According to the government, around 36,500 Germans registered for the election. (sda/dpa)