Polls have opened in France for mayoral elections across its cities and major towns, in the last vote before next year’s presidential election.
Excitement is especially high in the capital Paris and the city of Nice on the Riviera.
The capital could shift to the right after 25 years under a Socialist-led coalition, if Rachida Dati comes from behind in the opinion polls to defeat Emmanuel Grégoire.
And in Nice, a hard-right ally of Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN), Eric Ciotti, seems on course for victory.
But in this second round of municipal elections, the biggest focus across the country is on the hard-left party France Unbowed (LFI).
In many of these places, it has now formed alliances with other left-wing lists – mainly from the Socialist Party (PS) or Greens – in order to concentrate the anti-right vote.
But the key test in these elections – of big importance ahead of 2027 – is whether voters favour or shun these alliances, given the growing criticisms aimed at LFI and its leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon for alleged antisemitism and pursuing a “sectional”, i.e. Muslim, vote.
Emblematic of this is Toulouse in the south-west, home of France’s aeronautics industry as well as a big student population and a classic French banlieue of high-rise estates.
The city’s centre-right mayor Jean-Luc Moudenc came first in round one, with 37% of the vote. But he was followed by two left-wingers, François Piquemal (27.5%) of LFI, and the Socialist François Briançon (25%).
These two have now merged their lists, giving them a clear lead over Moudenc on paper. If they win it will be the hard-left Piquemal who becomes Toulouse mayor.
The test is to see whether the left/hard-left alliance acts as a clarion call to Toulouse voters or a turn-off.
Similar left-wing pacts have been made in 26 big towns and cities, including Nantes, Grenoble, Lyons, Limoges, Clermont-Ferrand, Brest and Tours – earning the fury of right-wing politicians who call them “alliances of shame”.