France’s far right makes gains in first-round municipal elections

PARIS -- France’s far right has made gains in the first round of municipal elections in the southeast, while control of most major cities, including Paris, remains undecided ahead of the upcoming runoff. The vote is widely seen as a test before next year’s presidential election.

Voters cast ballots in about 35,000 villages, towns and cities, with roughly 93% selecting their mayor in the first round, where mostly one or two candidates, not associated with any party, competed.

Turnout reached just over 57%, higher than in the 2020 vote held during the COVID-19 pandemic but significantly lower than in 2014, according to the Ministry of Interior.

Here’s what to know ahead of the second round on March 22:

Sunday’s first round showed the far-right National Rally of Marine Le Pen continuing to gain ground locally, particularly in southeastern France.

The party’s No. 2 figure, Louis Aliot, won by a landslide in his stronghold of Perpignan.

In Marseille, France's second-largest city, incumbent left-wing mayor Benoît Payan finished the first round neck and neck with National Rally contender Franck Allisio.

In Nice on the French Riviera, Éric Ciotti, a former conservative who launched his own far-right party in 2024 and has allied with the National Rally, emerged as the favorite for the second round.

The far right also appears well-placed in the southern cities of Nîmes and the port of Toulon, a major 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 lists, possibly giving them a better chance at winning, were to end before 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

Alliances have been highly debated between the traditional left and the hard-left France Unbowed, led by veteran firebrand Jean-Luc Mélenchon, which showed strong results in several big cities.

France Unbowed once used to ally with the Socialists, Greens and Communists. But the alliance collapsed as political rivals accused France Unbowed politicians of tolerating antisemitic rhetoric. Some critics also blamed the hard left for fueling tensions after a far-right militant was beaten to death in Lyon last month.

Still, some electoral pacts have been made on a case-by-case basis.

In Lyon, France's third-largest city, incumbent mayor Grégory Doucet, a Green, joined forces with France Unbowed in a tight race against right-wing contender Jean-Michel Aulas, a business owner and former football club president.

Anti-racism group SOS Racisme called on mainstream parties to unite to block the far right. “No alliance should be ruled out if it helps prevent this party from taking control of new municipalities,” the group’s president, Dominique Sopo, said in a statement.

Le Pen’s party remains weak in several major urban centers, with limited support in cities such as Paris and Lyon.

The race for Paris mayor has seen left-wing candidate Emmanuel Grégoire emerge as the front-runner after the first round, but the contest is expected to tighten in the runoff against conservative rival Rachida Dati.

Dati, a prominent figure who until recently served as France’s culture minister, hopes to end 25 years of left-wing leadership at the City Hall. But her 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 Socialists, Greens and Communists. Grégoire said he would not form a pact with France Unbowed, whose candidate also qualified for the second round, making the result highly unpredictable.

Outgoing Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo, elected in 2014 and reelected in 2020, chose not to seek a third term after leading the city through the 2015 extremist attacks and the 2024 Paris Olympics.

All eyes are already turning to the 2027 presidential race, because municipal elections are the last nationwide vote before the campaign for France's top job and an occasion for all parties to enhance local grassroots. President Emmanuel Macron can't seek a third consecutive term under France’s constitution.

In the northern port city of Le Havre, incumbent mayor Édouard Philippe, who came out first Sunday, seeks a runoff victory that could strengthen his political standing as a potential presidential contender. Philippe, a center-right politician, was Macron's prime minister for three years.

On the far right, the National Rally counts on key mayor jobs to demonstrate the party's ability to be at the helm.

Marine Le Pen had long been considered a leading candidate for the presidency. But she was convicted last year of embezzlement and barred from holding public office for five years. She is appealing the ruling, with a key court decision expected July 7. If she's barred from running, her protégé Jordan Bardella will replace her as the party's candidate.

Several other top politicians on the left and the right have expressed presidential ambitions, but none has emerged so far as a clear front-runner.