France municipal elections pose a key test for far right ahead of 2027 presidential race

French voters went to the polls on Sunday to elect mayors in Paris, Marseille and more than 1,500 other cities and towns, in a test of the far right’s strength and the resilience of mainstream parties ahead of next year’s presidential election

French voters went to the polls on Sunday to elect mayors in Paris, Marseille and more than 1,500 other cities and towns, in a test of the far right’s strength and the resilience of mainstream parties ahead of next year’s presidential election.

Heading nearly 35,000 municipalities - from major cities to villages with only a few dozen residents - mayors are France's most trusted elected officials.

Many won enough votes to be elected in the first round last Sunday, but tight races in France's biggest cities are going to runoff elections.

One of the key ballots is in Marseille, the country's second-biggest city, where the second round pits the far-right National Rally (RN) against the incumbent Socialist mayor.

A close race is also likely in Paris, where opinion polls show victory for either the conservatives or the left is within their margins of error.