- Title: Polls open in French mayoral elections
- Date: 15th March 2026
- Summary: PARIS, FRANCE (MARCH 15, 2026) (REUTERS) POLLS OPENING IN 18TH DISTRICT VOTERS HAVING THEIR NAMES VERIFIED ON VOTERS’ LIST VOTER TAKING BALLOT PAPERS VOTER COMING OUT OF BOOTH VOTER PUTTING BALLOT IN BOX VOTER TAKING BALLOT PAPERS VOTERS INSIDE BOOTHS/ ELECTION ATTENDANTS AT TABLE BALLOTS INSIDE BOX VOTER WITH DOG AND BABY, COMING OUT OF BOOTH VOTER PUTTING BALLOT INSIDE
- Embargoed:
- Keywords: Paris mayoral elections municipal elections
- Location: PARIS, FRANCE
- City: PARIS, FRANCE
- Country: France
- Topics: Europe,Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
- Reuters ID: LVA001412115032026RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: French voters headed to the polls on Sunday (March 15) 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 started at 8 a.m. (0700 GMT) 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.
In Paris, outgoing Mayor Anne Hidalgo’s ecological legacy faces a reckoning in Sunday's election.
Right-wing rivals hoping to profit from voter fatigue over the increasingly car-free city, roadwork disruptions and mounting debt.
Opinion polls suggest the winner will either be Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire, who wants to double down on the green agenda, or conservative former minister Rachida Dati, who says the classical allure of Paris is being destroyed.
(Production: Antony Paone, Michaela Cabrera) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None