Polls close in 1st round of France’s municipal elections

Polls closed Sunday in the first round of France's 2026 municipal elections, the Le Monde daily newspaper reported.

More than 48 million voters across over 34,000 municipalities cast ballots to elect local councils and mayors for six-year terms, it said.

In Paris, early estimates showed Emmanuel Gregoire, a Socialist who served as the First Deputy Mayor of Paris under Mayor Anne Hidalgo from 2018 to 2024, leading with 36.5 % of the vote, said the report, adding that he was followed by Hidalgo's longtime right-wing rival Rachida Dati with 24.9 % and radical-left candidate Sophia Chikirou with 13.7%.

In Marseille, initial projections showed leftist incumbent Mayor Benoit Payan and far-right National Rally lawmaker Franck Allisio tied, each receiving 35.4%. Right-wing independent candidate Martine Vassal trailed with 12.3%.

In France, candidates for municipal councils participate in elections on lists presented by different parties and alliances.

In the first round of local elections across the country, the list that receives 50% of the vote is considered the winner. If no list reaches the required number of votes, the lists that receive at least 10% of the vote in the first round will compete again in the second round.

Mayors will be elected by the council members during the first municipal council meeting held after the second round.

In the first round of elections, 904,042 candidates competed on 50,478 lists. The candidates who advanced to the second round will compete again on March 22.