All posts tagged: French local elections 2026

Feuding French Socialists leave presidential prospects in disarray – POLITICO

Feuding French Socialists leave presidential prospects in disarray – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“Even though the Socialists didn’t lose the municipal elections, we would be wrong to believe that we won them,” he told Le Parisien. Family feud Faure and Vallaud represent the two dueling visions of the Socialists’ future, and their divergent beliefs on how to choose a candidate for 2027 reflect that. Faure wants to look left. He is gunning for a broad primary, save for France Unbowed, to select a single candidate for the 2027 presidential race among the Socialists, the Greens, the Communists and other left-wing parties. Supporters argue such a primary would maximize the chances of a left-wing candidate reaching the second round. In the French presidential system, only two candidates qualify for the runoff, and many believe National Rally President Jordan Bardella’s strong poll numbers effectively guarantee him a spot in the final, even this early. “There’s an illusion that we’re going to win by bringing people who have voted for Macron twice back into the fold, even though they haven’t supported the left for over a decade,” said a Faure-aligned parliamentarian …

Former French PM fortifies presidential bid with strong showing in municipal race – POLITICO

Former French PM fortifies presidential bid with strong showing in municipal race – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Philippe looks primed to come out the other end of this make-or-break moment stronger. Building momentum now could help separate Philippe from the rest of a very crowded field of candidates in the race for the Elysée, though there’s still more than a year to go. “Everything sort of starts today,” Nathalie Loiseau, a MEP from Philippe’s Horizons party and one of its heavyweights, told POLITICO. “There are reasons to hope.” Philippe, who was the first of the center-right contenders to declare his presidential bid, is already rolling out campaign events, with April 12 bookmarked for a large-scale rally in Paris, according to two party officials — though Loiseau declined to confirm the event. “Le Havre’s people know that there is reason for hope when all people of good will come together … and reject the extremes and their simplistic solutions,” Philippe said in his victory speech Sunday from Le Havre. The politician’s strong performance in the first round and his comfortable win in the runoff drew a sigh of relief from his allies on …

Former French PM Lionel Jospin dies at 88 – POLITICO

Former French PM Lionel Jospin dies at 88 – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Jospin, a defender of traditional parties, had criticized President Emmanuel Macron for making them obsolete and the French president’s “hubris” in a book published in 2020. Macron praised Jospin as “a great French figure” in a social media post Monday. “Through his rigor, courage and ideal of progress, he embodied a lofty vision of the Republic,” Macron wrote on X. Jospin, who successfully united the left camp during his tenure as the party’s leader in the 1990s and became prime minister in 1997, supported the left-wing alliance uniting the Socialists, the Greens and far-left France Unbowed during the 2022 legislative election campaign. But he cautioned against France Unbowed leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s disruptive political strategy shortly after the election, warning of its potentially destructive effects on the broader left in an interview with Le Monde. Jospin’s death was announced the morning after local elections that are setting the scene for the 2027 presidential race, at a time when the left is weakened by deep divisions among moderates over whether uniting with a dominant but increasingly toxic Mélenchon is inevitable — or …

Winners and losers in France’s municipal elections – POLITICO

Winners and losers in France’s municipal elections – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Eric Ciotti: The new far-right mayor of Nice, the unofficial capital of the French Riviera, tried two years ago to strike a deal with Marine Le Pen’s National Rally as the head of the conservative Les Républicains. He locked himself in party headquarters to prevent a coup, but the farcical effort failed and he was booted from the movement. That gamble has paid off, handing him the keys to France’s fifth-largest city. His win is also a partial victory for Le Pen and Jordan Bardella’s party, which now has a powerful ally, but Ciotti’s triumph was also the result of a local rivalry. His advocacy for mass privatizations and admiration for Argentina’s chainsaw-wielding libertarian President Javier Milei also doesn’t align with Le Pen’s self-description as being “neither left nor right” and defense of parts of the welfare state. The National Rally: Party President Bardella said the National Rally “achieved the greatest breakthrough in its entire history.” Le Pen said it won dozens of cities. Eric Ciotti salutes his supporters in Nice after the results of the second round of …

Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire wins Paris mayoral race  – POLITICO

Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire wins Paris mayoral race  – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“Tonight Parisians have sent a message to Jordan Bardella, to Marine Le Pen and to those who worked behind the scenes for a union of right-wing parties,” Grégoire said in a short speech before hopping on a bike to head to city hall. “The message is clear: Paris is not and will never be a far-right city.” His supporters in Paris were are celebrating, singing “Emmanuel” and“On a gagné” (we won). Grégoire finished the first round 12 points clear of Dati, but the runoff was expected to be a tougher challenge after other right-wing candidates coalesced behind Dati’s campaign. Two candidates who qualified for the second round, the center-right former lawmaker Pierre-Yves Bournazel and far-right MEP Sarah Knafo, both left the race to avoid splitting the vote. ​​ Mayoral candidate Emmanuel Grégoire is pictured in Paris following the announcement of the results of the second round of France’s local elections on March 22, 2026. | Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP via Getty Images Grégoire, however, chose not to team up with Chikirou on principle due to her party’s …

Showdown on French Riviera reveals the far right’s potential path to power – POLITICO

Showdown on French Riviera reveals the far right’s potential path to power – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Eric Ciotti, 60, led the first round with 43.4 percent of the vote. The incumbent mayor, Christian Estrosi, a former industry minister under former right-wing President Nicolas Sarkozy, scored just over 30 percent and now faces a battle to claw his way back in Sunday’s runoff. “The people of Nice have expressed a desire to turn the page … The time for change has come,” a triumphant Ciotti said after the first-round vote. His lead was fueled by local rivalries, scandal and a feud with Estrosi that stretches back decades. The campaign took an ugly turn when a pig’s head, alongside a printed slur and a Star of David, was tied to the gate of Estrosi’s home — seen as a particularly gratuitous attack since his wife is Jewish. The case has now become even murkier. Estrosi initially blamed political opponents, but investigators are now exploring whether people within his own camp may have orchestrated the crime, the prosecutor said this month. Two arrests were made. Estrosi says he is the victim of “manipulation” and …

French far right’s success in Champagne buoys presidential dream – POLITICO

French far right’s success in Champagne buoys presidential dream – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

Historically, the complex dynamic of ad hoc, last-minute alliances that shape local elections in France’s two-round system has worked against the National Rally, with the far right accusing the rest of the political class of conspiring to keep it out of power. But its leaders now hope they can break that glass ceiling ahead of next year’s presidential race. During his speech at the rally, Bardella’s message to France’s conservative party was simple: “Join us,” he said. “We are facing a wall that is being built against us,” Jacobelli told POLITICO on the sidelines of the rally. “It is not a glass ceiling, it is a reflex of self-preservation” from other parties. The first round of local elections on Sunday delivered mixed results for the poll-topping, far-right party, highlighting how a decisive breakthrough still eludes Marine Le Pen, Jordan Bardella and their allies in France’s biggest cities. | Marion Solletty/POLITICO During Bardella’s speech, a small group overcome by enthusiasm chanted “Jor-dan president, Jor-dan president” — forgetting for the moment that Marine Le Pen, who had …

I’m too busy to interfere in the Paris mayor race – POLITICO

I’m too busy to interfere in the Paris mayor race – POLITICO

Published by Sam Flores

“Emmanuel Macron personally intervened … to make sure that the far right withdraws to the profit of his candidate,” Grégoire told France Info, though he did not present any evidence of the allegations. When asked about the remarks ahead of a meeting of EU leaders, Macron said they “make no sense” and “dishonor the person who made them so bluntly. It’s not serious.” PARIS LOCAL ELECTION POLL OF POLLS For more polling data from across Europe visit POLITICO Poll of Polls. Macron went on to say the discussions being held in Brussels, where heads of government will try to tackle the fallout from the conflict in the Middle East, the war in Ukraine and the EU’s economic agenda, are bigger priorities for him than the campaign to lead the French capital. “The discussion we are having right now shows that I largely have other things to do,” he said. “I don’t know Ms. Knafo personally, and I’m not getting involved in these municipal elections at all,” Macron added. The French leader’s only other public comment …