Candidates of the far-right party "National Rally" scored strong results in the first round of local elections in France held on Sunday, winning the vote by a large margin in several places, and in Marseille they tied with the left, France 24 reported.
The local elections are the last major test of the attitudes of French society before the presidential vote scheduled for next year.
The steady increase in support for the French far-right reached a new milestone on Sunday, after Marine Le Pen's "National Rally" scored its best first-round results in local elections in its history. The current mayor of Perpignan, Louis Alliot, who is also vice-president of the "National Assembly", was re-elected. Perpignan is the only city with a population exceeding 100,000 that is governed by a far-right party.
"National Assembly" also leads in the first round in the city of Toulon.
The result of Le Pen's party is almost equal to that of the left in Marseille and Nimes.
The results of the first exit poll for the Paris mayoral election by the "Ipsos" institute show that the socialist Emmanuel Gregoire is ahead of the conservative Rachida Dati, the candidate of the far-left Sofia Chikirou and the candidate of the centrist "Horizons" party Pierre-Yves Bournazel.
According to another exit poll, rising far-right star Sarah Knafo could also get enough votes to run in the second round of the election, although her exit poll results are lower than those in the pre-election polls.
More than 904,000 candidates ran for office in nearly 35,000 municipalities across the country.
The election campaign was largely overshadowed by the war in Iran and its aftermath, in particular the impact on fuel prices. Voter turnout was below 59%, higher than in the 2020 local elections, which were marred by the coronavirus pandemic. Voter turnout in 2014 was 63.5%.
Although local elections are often about local issues, the results of the vote shed light on the public mood. The National Rally usually performs poorly in local elections. If the Eurosceptic, anti-immigrant party scores significant victories in the second round on March 22, then its authority will be strengthened in the run-up to the 2027 presidential election.
One of the most prominent politicians running in these elections, Edouard Philippe, a former prime minister and possible presidential candidate, is now hoping to retain his post as mayor of the northern port city of Le Havre. The 55-year-old Philippe has been in power since 2014 and is seen by many as the strongest candidate to challenge Marine Le Pen or the National Rally leader. Jordan Bardella in the presidential election. A close battle was expected in Le Havre, but exit polls show Philippe in first place, 10 percentage points ahead of the left-wing candidate. This makes Philippe the clear favorite to win next week's second round.
There is a 10 percent threshold for participation in the runoff. This means that three, four or even five candidates could run in the second round, making it difficult to predict the outcome of the vote.
The French left is increasingly divided and there are signs of the collapse of the "cordon sanitaire" that has so far prevented conservatives from forming alliances with the far right.