France’s Socialists tightened their grip on four major cities following municipal elections over the weekend while the far right fell short of a wider breakthrough ahead of the 2027 race to succeed president Emmanuel Macron.
Socialist candidate Emmanuel Grégoire won the Paris mayoral race on Sunday, succeeding fellow party member Anne Hidalgo in the French capital.
The results of the final round of municipal elections showed clear gains for the traditional left and right, and one major win for the far-right in the French Riviera city of Nice.
The vote was seen as a test of the balance of power before the 2027 presidential race began to take shape. Definitive results were still pending in some cities.
In major cities such as Paris, Marseille and Lille, incumbent Socialist administrations were comfortably returned after distancing themselves from the far left amid accusations of antisemitism within its ranks.
Mr Grégoire claimed victory after estimates based on partial results placed him well ahead of conservative rival Rachida Dati, who acknowledged defeat.
“Tonight is the victory of a certain vision of Paris: a vibrant Paris, a progressive Paris," Mr Grégoire said before heading through the streets of Paris to the City Hall on a bicycle.
French voters returned to the polling booths on Sunday for the final round of municipal elections in 1,500 communes, including major cities. Mayors and municipal councillors are elected for six years.
Turnout at 5pm local time was just over 48 per cent in the mainland, higher than in the 2020 vote held during the Covid pandemic but four points lower than in 2014, according to the interior ministry. Polling stations were open until 8pm in the biggest cities.
Nice, France’s fifth largest city, became the most resounding win of the far right with the victory of Eric Ciotti, a former conservative who allied with Marine Le Pen’s National Rally.
However, Le Pen’s party lost in several cities it had identified as top priorities.
Those included the Mediterranean city of Marseille, France’s second-largest city, where the incumbent left-wing mayor Benoît Payan won over far-right candidate Franck Allisio.
Far-right candidates also lost to mainstream rivals in the southern cities of Nîmes and the port of Toulon, a major naval base on the Mediterranean, which were two key targets for the National Rally.
By Sunday, voters had chosen mayors in about 93 per cent of 35,000 villages, towns and cities, where mostly one or two candidates, not associated with any party, competed.
Some linked this weekend’s vote to a darker international backdrop and to the presidential race looming next year. “We have war in Ukraine, war in Gaza, war in the Middle East,” said Elena Van Langhenhoven, 81. “And France, will it see a major shift next year, in the presidential elections? It’s horrendous.”
Additional reporting by AP
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