Left leads in Paris, far right eyes gains in France local polls

PARIS

Voters stand in polling booths during the first round of France's 2026 municipal elections at the city hall in Perpignan, southwestern France, on March 15, 2026. (Photo by Ed JONES / AFP)

A Socialist candidate was leading in Paris while the far right looked strong in several southern cities as projections arrived from first-round local elections held on March 15, seen as a political barometer ahead of France's presidential polls.

According to initial results, a centrist touted as a strong contender for the 2027 presidential race, Edouard Philippe, was well-placed to remain mayor in the northern city of Le Havre in a second-round local election in a week's time.

The former prime minister, seen as one of the best candidates to take on the far-right National Rally (RN) party in next year's presidential contest, had made his reelection in the port city a prerequisite of his 2027 campaign.

Analysts see the local races as an early indicator of key trends and patterns of tactical voting ahead of the presidential showdown.

The RN views next year's contest as its strongest chance yet to take power, with centrist President Emmanuel Macron stepping down after the maximum two terms in office.

The elections in around 35,000 villages, towns and city boroughs are held over two rounds on consecutive Sundays.

In more than 90 percent of communes, the mayor was expected to be elected in the first round.

But races in many bigger cities will go into second rounds, with politicians on March 15 evening already moving to make cross-party alliances against their key opponents.

In Paris, Socialist candidate Emmanuel Gregoire was in the lead ahead of former Culture Minister Rachida Dati, projections from two pollsters indicated.

The far-right mayor of Perpignan was reelected with 50.61 percent of the vote, according to official results. The city of some 100,000 inhabitants is the largest city so far under control of the anti-immigration party.

In France's second largest city of more than 800,000, Marseille, an incumbent left-wing mayor was neck to neck with a far-right candidate.

In Nice, France's fifth biggest city of some 350,000, an ally of the far-right enjoyed a lead of around ten points, according to estimates.

The far-right party's candidate was also in the lead in the southern city of Toulon, an urban center of more than 150,000 people, ahead of the incumbent mayor, projections showed.

"Change won't wait for 2027. It starts next Sunday. It starts in seven days," RN leader Jordan Bardella told supporters.

Historically, France's major cities have been governed either by center-left parties or the right-wing Republicans.

By contrast, the RN, far-left firebrand Jean-Luc Melenchon's party and President Emmanuel Macron's centrists have struggled to establish a strong local footprint.

In the northern town of Roubaix, a hard-left candidate had a strong lead with 45 percent of the vote.

If he were to win in the second round, the town of some 98,000 people would become the largest city run by Melenchon's party.

Pollsters said turnout on March 15 was the country's lowest, other than the last local polls in 2020 held during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to estimates from several polling organizations, overall turnout stood at between 56 percent and 58.5 percent, compared to 63.55 percent at the equivalent elections in 2014.