The second round of the municipal elections must configure the mayoralties of the three main cities (Paris, Marseille and Lyon), but also of crucial municipalities such as Toulouse, Toulon, Lille, Nice or Le Havre, where the former conservative prime minister Édouard Philippe is also risking his candidacy for the 2027 presidential elections. More than 16.8 million voters (and citizens of the European Union residing in France) are called to the elections. polls this Sunday for the second round of the municipal elections.
between Emmanuel Grégoire, the progressive candidate and successor of the current mayor, Anne Hidalgo; the conservative Rachida Dati, who has managed to integrate the Macronist spectrum into her lists and will also benefit from the withdrawal of ; and the candidate of France Insoumise, Sophia Chikirou, who could take votes away from the socialist Grégoire. The polls speak of a tight race in which the continuity option has an advantage for the left to keep Paris.
with the left to achieve the mayoralty. The leftist candidacy, led by the current mayor, Benoît Payan, has managed to bring together different currents, including the new symbol of the fight against drug trafficking, Amine Kessaci, who suffered the murder of his brother and is now himself threatened with death by the gangs. But, in addition, he has seen how La Francia Insumisa (also on the left spectrum) withdrew its candidacy in the second round so as not to harm the progressive candidate. The RN, led in Marseille by Frank Allisio, on the other hand, will also have to compete against a center-right list. In any case, if the far-right managed to take over the city, it would be a historic milestone that would consolidate its power one year before the 2027 presidential elections.
Lyon, the third largest city in the country, will also see a duel between two major candidates. The current mayor, Grégory Doucet, has managed to bring together all the left-wing forces in his coalition of parties, including La Francia Insumisa, with whom he has agreed in a rare gesture in these elections. On the other side, Jean-Michel Aulas, former president of the Olympique de Lyon club, has brought together the majority of center-right forces. The result of the first round was practically a tie.
One of the big unknowns of the first round was to see if he would obtain a good result. His future as a presidential candidate is completely linked to these elections. If he does not revalidate the mayor’s office, he has warned, he will rule himself out of the race to the Elysée. The first lap smiled at Philippe, who should have no problems confirming his victory.
The extreme right is gaining ground in other relevant cities such as Nice or Toulon. In the first, the candidate Éric Ciotti, former leader of The Republicans who left the party to ally with Le Pen, has an advantage in the second round, with 43.43% support, compared to 30% for his rival, the centrist Christian Estrosi.
In Toulon, in the Var department, the far-right Laure Lavalette has everything to win, with a 42% advantage. Already in 1995, this city was the first major mayor’s office conquered by the National Front, a party founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen, father of the current leader.
