After setbacks across Europe, is the populist far right losing ground?

In France, Italy and Slovenia, far-right parties failed to convert momentum into decisive victories, but analysts warn against drawing long-term conclusions.

Three votes across Europe in recent days have dealt setbacks to the populist far right.

In France, centrist and left-leaning forces won in Paris and Lyon during local elections that ended Sunday, securing mayoral and city council seats. They also won in France’s second-largest city, Marseille, where the far-right party, the National Rally (RN), had hoped to gain a foothold after making some gains in the first round.

In Slovenia’s parliamentary election on Sunday, liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob’s Freedom Movement (GS) edged out the right-wing former Prime Minister Janez Jansa’s Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS).

And in Italy, voters dealt a blow to right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni in a constitutional referendum, rejecting her flagship judicial reforms in a referendum widely seen as a test of her leadership.

Taken together, the results suggest Europe’s far right – buoyed in recent years by concerns over migration, inflation and identity politics – may be struggling to convert momentum into decisive electoral victories, but analysts urge against jumping to long-term conclusions.