France: Far-right strength put to test in local elections

Voters in France are heading to the polls in local elections seen as a litmus test for next year's presidential vote. A main focus will be the mayoral contest in Paris.

Voters in France are going to the polls on Sunday in muncipal elections that are being considered as a final major gauge of political sentiment in the country ahead of a presidential vote next year.

In particular, the ballot is being seen as a test of the far right's strength as mainstream parties seem to be losing credibility with wide swathes of the population.

The far-right National Rally (RN)  views next year's vote as its strongest chance yet to take the presidency, with the centrist incumbent Emmanuel Macron constitutionally barred from running again.

What happens at the French municipal elections?

Voters will be choosing thousands of local councillors who, in their turn, elect mayors in the respective communities.

Under French electoral rules, party lists must include equal numbers of men and women in alternating order on the ballot.

Nearly 49 million people are eligible to vote.

If no absolute majority is reached in a particular contest, a second round will be held on March 22.

That second round will include all lists that attain 10% or more of the vote, meaning that there can be unpredictable three- or four-way ⁠runoffs.

Surveys have shown that security, housing and local taxes are some of the key issues for voters.

Polling stations on the French mainland open at 8 a.m. (0700 GMT) and close between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., depending on the size of city. Results are expected in the evening.

Why are the elections so important in France?

Mayors, who are France's most trusted elected officials, head nearly 35,000 communes in the country, ranging from large cities to tiny villages.

The results of the election will reflect voters' concerns and measure the level of support for parties at the national level as well.

In addition, local councillors elect senators to France's upper house of parliament.

Focus on far-right performance

The elections will be under particular scrutiny to see how well the far-right, euroskeptic RN does.

The party, which is the single largest parliamentary opposition party in the National Assembly but has so far failed to gain much ground at a local level, is fielding about 650 lists, a much higher number than in previous local votes.

Altogether 33 of 119 of its members of parliament are candidates in the local elections, something that indicates how important it feels the vote to be ahead of the 2027 presidential vote.

At present, only about a dozen mayors belong to or are affiliated with the party, and it holds just one city with more than 100,000 inhabitants, Perpignan, which is in the far southeast of the country, near the Spanish border.

What are the major contests in the elections?

The mayoral contest in the capital, Paris, is a focus of attention, as a conservative candidate vies to take over the city after its 12 years of Socialist leadership, latterly under outgoing Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

Right-wing former Culture Minister Rachida Dati, 60, is seeking to become the capital's second female mayor in a row as she contends with Socialist candidate Emmanuel Gregoire, 48, Hidalgo's deputy.

The two candidates have radically different agendas.

Dati, who is also a former justice minister, wants to boost law and order by giving weapons to municipal police officers and increasing video surveillance, in addition to improving cleanliness standards in the city.

Gregoire wants to continue on from the legacy of Hidalgo and other leftist mayors of making Paris greener, including by increasing the number of bike lanes, parks and green walking paths. He also wants to improve public housing amid often prohibitive rents.

The vote in the southern city of Marseille, France's second-largest, where the Socialists are also in power, is also being watched closely.

The leftists are facing challenges from both the left-wing opposition and the RN, which would see winning the city as a major milestone.

Edited by: Saim Dušan Inayatullah