Only one vote and then many go. The first round of the municipal elections has resulted, Sunday, March 15, in the election of a winner in about 33,173 communes in France (excluding French Polynesia), representing approximately 95% of the localities where the vote was held. But elsewhere, attention is now turned towards the second round. Voters in 1,719 communes will be called back to the polls on Sunday to choose their mayor from the lists that will remain by then. In an increasingly fragmented political landscape, scenarios with more than three qualified lists are multiplying in large cities. Franceinfo provides an update with two graphics.
The end of the hegemony of the major left and right parties
The time when the Socialist Party and The Republicans shared the majority of the municipal elections cake is now over. The first round of 2026 illustrates a political landscape that is becoming more scattered. This phenomenon is reflected in the rise of the National Rally, especially in large cities with over 100,000 inhabitants, where it ranks first in Nice, Toulon, Nîmes, and Perpignan. It is also notable through the rise in power of a central block and lists of all sides labeled “diverse” by the Ministry of the Interior.
Less frequently in the top position than the National Rally, La France insoumise is another player in this fragmentation. Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s movement has managed to qualify for the second round in eight of the ten largest cities in France. “What could explain these performances is the polarization of the debate and the desire to change the system: parties that until now were unable to establish themselves or did so marginally, like the National Rally or La France insoumise, seem to gain advantages. We will have a diversification of municipal officials,” analyzes political scientist Olivier Rouquan for Franceinfo.
Scenarios with four, five, or even six lists for the second round
The fragmentation of the political landscape is also reflected in the number of candidates qualifying for the second round, from quadrangulares, quinquangulares, and even sexangulares. Sunday’s vote allowed six candidates to remain in the running in Castres (Tarn), Châtellerault (Vienne), Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin), and Poitiers (Vienne). Nearly half of the cities with over 100,000 inhabitants have at least four lists that can participate in the upcoming vote. As a symbol, Paris has five candidates still in the running: Emmanuel Grégoire (38%), Rachida Dati (25.5%), Sophia Chikirou (11.7%), Pierre-Yves Bournazel (11.3%), and Sarah Knafo (10.4%). All have obtained the 10% of votes necessary to qualify.
Now it’s time for alliances, mergers, and withdrawals. But negotiations are expected to be difficult. Attention is particularly focused on La France insoumise, whose candidates have managed to enter the second round in most of the country’s largest cities. The list leaders have until Tuesday, at 6 pm, to decide whether to remain, merge, or withdraw.
