French local elections: Left dominates major cities as turnout surges
France's local elections delivered a string of victories for left-wing parties across the country's biggest urban centres
PARIS (MNTV) – The second round of France’s local elections delivered a string of victories for left-wing parties across the country’s biggest urban centres, with voter participation climbing sharply to 57% — up considerably from the 41.86% recorded in the equivalent round of the 2020 elections.
In each of France’s three most populous cities — Paris, Marseille, and Lyon — left-aligned candidates came out on top, while many smaller municipalities chose to return their sitting mayors to office.
The French capital will remain under Socialist leadership after Emmanuel Gregoire, who previously served as deputy to long-time Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, claimed roughly half the vote.
Former culture minister Rachida Dati, representing Macron’s centre-right bloc, trailed in second place with around 40%, while left-wing France Unbowed (LFI) candidate Sophia Chikirou placed third with approximately 10%. The Socialists will hold the mayoralty until the next local elections.
Marseille’s incumbent mayor Benoit Payan comfortably secured re-election with nearly 55% of the vote, well ahead of far-right challenger Franck Allisio.
In Lyon, a closely contested race resulted in Green Mayor Gregory Doucet retaining his seat with 54% support, edging out centre-right rival Jean-Michel Aulas.
The northern city of Lille returned its Socialist mayor Arnaud Deslandes with exactly half the vote, while in nearby Roubaix, LFI parliamentarian David Guiraud secured a convincing win with over 55%.
Nice bucked the national trend as Eric Ciotti — a centre-right candidate who also carried far-right backing — won with 45%, unseating incumbent Mayor Christian Estrosi.
However, the far right fell short in both Toulon, where the sitting centre-right mayor held on with 53.5%, and Nimes, where a Communist candidate defeated his far-right opponent.
Gregoire, in his victory remarks, framed the Paris result as a rejection of far-right politics, declaring the city would never be defined by racism or antisemitism.
LFI’s Manuel Bompard sounded a cautious note despite his party’s gains, warning of a deepening democratic crisis linked to low overall engagement.
Meanwhile, Marine Le Pen of the National Rally claimed dozens of municipal victories nationwide, and Renaissance secretary general Gabriel Attal noted that 200 of his party’s candidates had been elected as mayors across France.
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