OPINION: Local elections will show if France still has the will to resist the far-right

"French municipal elections are always important. Even the smallest village mayors in France have some power. Big city mayors have real power. This month's election is even more important than usual. It will be the last big democratic test before a Presidential election next spring which could stand French and European politics on its head."

"The Far Right Rassemblement National enjoys an insolent, 19-point lead over all-comers in national polls before the presidential election in April and May 2027. National and local politics in France beat to different drums. The RN's unprecedented strength will not produce a tidal wave of local victories this Sunday and next."

"The municipal elections will tell us how much life remains in the so-called Republican Front—the willingness of voters of left, moderate right and centre to combine to block the Far Right in the second round of an election."

France will hold 35,000 municipal elections on March 15th, with particular significance as the last major democratic test before the 2027 presidential election. The far-right Rassemblement National holds a 19-point lead in national polls, though national and local politics operate differently. The RN and allies have genuine chances of winning major cities like Marseille and Nice for the first time, and hope to reclaim Toulon while tripling their 2020 total of town halls. These results will reveal the strength of the 'republican front'—the coalition of left, moderate right, and centre voters willing to unite against the far right in election runoffs.

Read at www.thelocal.fr