Socialist candidate Emmanuel Grégoire won the Paris mayoral race Sunday, succeeding fellow party member Anne Hidalgo as the French capital’s mayor, as results of the final round of municipal elections showed clear gains for the traditional left and right, and one major win for the far right in the French Riviera city of Nice.
The vote is a test of the balance of power on France’s local political map before the 2027 presidential race begins to take shape. Definitive results were still pending in big cities, including in Paris.
Grégoire claimed victory after estimates based on partial results placed him well ahead of conservative rival Rachida Dati, who acknowledged defeat.
Grégoire said “tonight is the victory of a certain vision of Paris: a vibrant Paris, a progressive Paris,” before heading through the streets of Paris to the City Hall on a bicycle.
French voters returned to the polls Sunday for the final round of municipal elections in 1,500 communes, including major cities. Mayors and municipal councilors are elected for six years.
Turnout at 5 p.m. local time was just over 48% in France’s mainland, higher than in the 2020 vote held during the COVID-19 pandemic but four points lower than in 2014, according to the Ministry of Interior. Polling stations were open until 8 p.m. in the biggest cities.
Nice, France’s fifth largest city on the French Riviera, becomes the most resounding win of the far right Sunday with the victory of Eric Ciotti, a former conservative who allied with the National Rally of Marine Le Pen.
However, Le Pen’s party lost in several cities it had identified as top priorities.
That includes the Mediterranean city of Marseille, France’s second largest city, where incumbent left-wing Mayor Benoît Payan won over far-right candidate Franck Allisio.
Far-right candidates have lost to mainstream rivals in the southern cities of Nîmes and the port of Toulon, a major naval base on the Mediterranean, which were two key targets for the National Rally.
Last Sunday, voters selected their mayor in about 93% of 35,000 villages, towns and cities, where mostly one or two candidates, not associated with any party, competed.
Some linked Sunday’s vote to a darker international backdrop and to the presidential race looming next year. “We have war in Ukraine, war in Gaza, war in the Middle East,” said Elena Van Langhenhoven, 81. “And France, will it see a major shift next year, in the presidential elections? It’s horrendous.”
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Associated Press journalist Alex Turnbull contributed to this report.
