Second-round mayoral elections in France, particularly in key cities, are being viewed as a crucial test ahead of the 2027 presidential election, with early results indicating challenges for the far-right.
First Round and Stakes for the Presidential Election
The first round of French local elections took place on March 15th. The second round focuses on a small minority of French municipalities, but major cities will be electing their councilors and mayors in this round.
Before the first round, Philippe acknowledged that a loss in Le Havre would not place him “in the best position to continue.” He tied his political future, in the context of the presidential elections, to re-election in Le Havre, where he has served as mayor since 2010.
Philippe Secures Victory in Le Havre
According to preliminary data from AFP, Philippe received approximately 47 percent of the vote in the second round. Philippe leads the centrist Horizon party, which is aligned with President Emmanuel Macron’s camp.
Polls conducted over a year before the presidential elections suggested he would be the strongest candidate against a far-right representative.
Far-Right Defeated in Marseille
In Marseille, France’s second-largest city, incumbent mayor Benoit Payan won according to an Elabe post-election poll.
The poll data indicates that Franck Allisio, the candidate from the far-right National Rally (RN), lost the duel for the mayoral office.
Results in Other Major Cities
The Elabe survey shows support between 53 and 56.2 percent for Payan’s list, compared to 39.1 to 41.5 percent for the RN candidate. In Nice, an Ipsos-BVA poll indicates Eric Ciotti, a former politician from the right-wing Republicans (LR) party, will become mayor, defeating incumbent Christian Estrosi by a margin of 45 percent to 39.5 percent.
Ciotti supports an alliance between the traditional right and the National Rally, breaking the “cordon sanitaire” around RN by forming an alliance before the 2024 parliamentary elections. He was subsequently excluded from LR, but his group sent several deputies to the French parliament in 2024.
Paris Mayoral Race Remains Tight
The outcome of the Paris mayoral election is uncertain, as pre-election polls gave the main rivals nearly equal numbers of votes. Grégoire, representing the left (but excluding the far-left La France Insoumise – LFI), can count on 45.5 percent of the vote.
Dati, a former Minister of Culture and a politician from the Republican (LR) party, received 44.5 percent of the vote in the latest polls. Her victory would mean the right-wing would take control of the capital’s city hall after 25 years of Socialist Party (PS) rule.
Orbán’s Impact on Ukraine’s Reputation
“Orbán has managed to ruin the reputation of Ukraine and Zelenskyy to the level of Putin,” András Biró-Nagy, a Hungarian political scientist and director of the Policy Solutions research institute, told “Wyborcza.”
