French Mayoral elections gauge far-right strength before Presidential ballot

French mayoral elections on March 15, 2026, test far-right support ahead of the pivotal presidential election.

French voters head to the polls on Sunday (March 15, 2026) to elect their mayors in a closely watched ballot seen as ​a test of the strength of the far-right 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.

Voting ⁠starts at 8 a.m. and ends at 8 p.m. In many medium to large cities, there will be a second round on March 22.

Local results can shape national momentum, especially ‌when they take place so close to the presidential election, which opinion polls show the far-right National Rally (RN) could potentially win.

The anti-immigration, eurosceptic ‌RN has so far struggled to make meaningful gains in municipal elections.

With candidates ‌in ⁠several hundred municipalities, it does not expect a landslide, but it hopes ⁠to showcase growing popularity and clinch a few big wins that would further boost its presidential campaign. "If the people of Marseille make a brave choice. It will embolden and enlighten the French on the choice ​they will make next year," Franck Allisio, ‌the RN candidate in France's second-biggest city, told Reuters.