Overview
- Polling stations opened across nearly 35,000 communes to elect municipal councils that will select mayors, with first-round results due late Sunday.
- The National Rally expanded to roughly 650 lists to bolster its limited local foothold, which currently includes only one city over 100,000 residents, Perpignan.
- Key battlegrounds include Paris, where Rachida Dati faces Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire, Marseille, where Benoît Payan is locked in a tight race with RN’s Franck Allisio, and Le Havre, where Édouard Philippe seeks another term.
- Under the two-round system, any list scoring at least 10% advances to the March 22 runoff, setting up potential three- or four-way contests and a week of deal‑making.
- Surveys indicate security is the top voter concern, a theme that aligns with RN’s law‑and‑order message as parties gauge momentum ahead of the 2027 presidential race.