French Elections: Le Pen’s Party Gains Ground, Left Wins Major Cities

Éric Ciotti, the candidate allied with the Rassemblement National (RN), has been elected Mayor of Nice, France, following the second round of municipal elections. The results, announced Monday, represent a significant gain for the right-wing alliance in a key southern French city, though the RN itself experienced mixed results across the country.

While Ciotti secured victory in Nice, the RN failed to capture the port city of Toulon, which had been considered a potential major win for the party during the campaign. In Nîmes, a city where the RN also hoped for success, the Communist Party candidate emerged victorious, according to initial reports.

The elections also saw victories for established political figures. Former French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, who intends to run in the 2027 presidential election, was re-elected as Mayor of Le Havre. He won a clear victory in the second round, according to projections.

In France’s largest cities, left-wing candidates prevailed. Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire is set to become the next Mayor of Paris, defeating conservative Rachida Dati, a former Culture Minister. Grégoire had previously worked alongside outgoing Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo and intends to continue her policies focused on climate and cycling infrastructure. President Emmanuel Macron publicly denied personally campaigning for Dati.

In Marseille, Socialist incumbent Benoît Payan defeated right-wing populist Franck Allisio, having previously been neck-and-neck in polling. A win for the right in Marseille would have been a symbolically important victory ahead of the 2027 presidential contest.

Approximately 1,600 of France’s 35,000 communes held a second round of voting, as no candidate achieved an absolute majority in the first round a week prior. As of late afternoon Monday, just over 48 percent of registered voters had cast their ballots, according to the Interior Ministry.

According to Wikipedia, Éric Ciotti has been a member of the National Assembly since 2007, representing Alpes-Maritimes’s 1st constituency. He also served as President of the Departmental Council of Alpes-Maritimes from 2008 to 2017 and was President of The Republicans from December 2022 to September 2024. He is currently President of the UDR group in the National Assembly.