The France Unbowed leader wants to build on his party’s success in local elections to become a leading presidential rival to Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen on the far right. It’s a race few see him winning. Mar 18 6 mins read Source link
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 …
To display this content from YouTube, you must enable advertisement tracking and audience measurement. Accept Manage my choices One of your browser extensions seems to be blocking the video player from loading. To watch this content, you may need to disable it on this site. Try again ENTRE NOUS © FRANCE 24 Issued on: 19/03/2026 – 16:45Modified: 19/03/2026 – 16:50 06:57 min From the show Reading time 1 min The second round of French municipal elections are taking place this coming weekend, but the vast majority of mayors – particularly in small towns – have already been elected. In this edition of Entre Nous, we take a look at what the job entails, why so many mayors say they are exhausted, why so many of them have quit in the past term… and how to properly wear a mayoral sash. By: Source link
It appears this surge was driven, at least in part, by geopolitical developments — specifically the war in Iran. Based on impressions on the ground, heightened anti-war sentiment seems to have mobilized both the Muslim and young hard-left voters who form the party’s base. The implications of this are significant: Many had written Mélenchon off after a series of scandals and a dip in national polling. But these successes suggest he may yet play an important role in shaping the presidential elections — again — making it difficult for a more moderate left candidate to emerge and possibly even reaching the final run-off alongside the far right. Meanwhile, France’s traditional parties — the center-left Socialists and center-right Republicans — continue to display an unexpected resilience at the local level, despite being nationally sidelined since 2017. Together they dominated a majority of towns, including many of the country’s largest cities, remaining deeply embedded in municipal politics. By contrast, French President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist movement remains conspicuously weak, having failed to establish a meaningful municipal base after …
Marseille, France’s second city, is. And the incumbent center-left candidate there faces a serious challenge from the National Rally. Other southern cities such as Nice, Toulon and Nîmes are also far-right targets, so keep an eye on those to get a sense of whether voters are ready to hand Le Pen or Jordan Bardella the keys to the Elysée next year. MARSEILLE LOCAL ELECTION POLL OF POLLS For more polling data from across Europe visit POLITICO Poll of Polls. Le Havre should be on your watch list too, because it’s former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe’s home base. Philippe is the mayor and is running for reelection before he sets his sights on the presidency in 2027. He’s seen as one of the strongest candidates to take on the far right, but polling suggests he faces a make-or-break battle to hold on to Le Havre. On the left, the Greens risk losing several of the big cities they picked up six years ago, such as Bordeaux or Lyon, which could further weaken the party after a string of underwhelming …
It will also be a grave personal disappointment for Philippe, who has long held ambitions to run for the Élysée. As prime minister from 2017 to 2020 he steered France through the Covid pandemic, but was ultimately sidelined by Macron when the president wanted to give his government a “new direction,” a decision that many in the administration believed was due to Philippe’s higher popularity ratings. This month’s local elections are an opportunity to launch his campaign ahead of the 2027 presidential race. But Philippe now risks slipping up before he even reaches the starting line. A shock poll from OpinionWay landed last month and predicted that Philippe could be squeezed out by the far right and far left in the second round of the contest in Le Havre. Philippe was seen winning only 40 percent, pipped by the Communist Jean-Paul Lecoq on 42 percent. Franck Keller, backed by the RN, was set to win 18 percent. Former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe could see his presidential ambitions dashed if he doesn’t get the backing of …
NEW YORK (AP) — New York City’s police commissioner said Monday that authorities are investigating whether men who brought improvised explosive devices to a protest outside New York City’s mayoral residence were inspired by ISIS. The devices, which did not explode, were hurled during raucous counterprotests Saturday near Gracie Mansion during a “Stop the Islamic Takeover of New York City” event led by the far right activist Jake Lang. Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said the explosives could have caused serious injury or death. Two people are in custody for their alleged roles in the confrontation but they have not been charged, Tisch said during a news conference. Police are working with federal prosecutors and the FBI, which has assigned agents with the bureau’s Joint Terrorism Task Force to the investigation. “I can confirm this morning that this is being investigated as an act of ISIS-inspired terrorism,” Tisch said. The two have not been charged. Tisch said police were working with federal prosecutors and the FBI on the case. The FBI said agents with the bureau’s Joint Terrorism Task Force …
Belgium’s federal judicial police anti-terrorism unit and the federal prosecutor’s office are investigating the incident. A spokesperson for the Liège mayor’s office told POLITICO: “The mayor and the municipal executive express their strongest condemnation of this extremely violent act of antisemitism, which runs counter to Liège’s tradition of respect for others. There can be no question of importing external conflicts into our city.” According to the mayor’s office, the blast caused damage to the building. Local media reported that windows on the building’s front façade were blown out. The mayor’s office said a press briefing would be held later in the day. Israel’s Ambassador to Belgium and Luxembourg Idit Rosenzweig-Abu also condemned the attack. “I was shocked by the news of the attack in Liége. I am in touch with the community that is understandingly shaken and terrified. I agree with PM De Wever who said that this is an attack on Belgian society as a whole,” she said. “To prevent such attacks, I hope we would not only see an increase in Jewish communities’ …
The race to lead Toulon carries particular significance given the Mediterranean port city elected a far-right mayor, Jean-Marie Le Chevallier, in the mid-1990s, and remains the most populous city ever to put the party in charge. But Le Chevallier’s tenure was largely seen as a failure and he scored fewer than 8 percent of the vote when he ran for reelection. The race to lead Toulon carries particular significance given the Mediterranean port city elected a far-right mayor, Jean-Marie Le Chevallier, in the mid-1990s. | Veronique Tournier/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images Marc Bayle, a former regional politician and expert in Toulon’s politics, said the Le Chevallier administration still carries “an image of incompetence and disorganization” that impacts how voters there view the far right. So despite strong scores in Toulon during national elections, the National Rally’s candidate there — party spokesperson Laure Lavalette — is not using the party’s name while campaigning. Instead she’s promoting herself as a local candidate with cross-partisan support. “For political commentators and voters with a longer political memory, the National Rally’s past experiences in power are important … But for …
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