Mayoral run-offs across France seen as key test before presidential election

VOTERS cast their ballots for mayors in major French cities on Sunday, with the left battling to keep Paris while the far right eyes gains ahead of next year’s presidential election.

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Most of the country’s almost 35,000 villages, towns and boroughs elected their leaders in a first round last weekend, but the races went to runoffs in about 1,500 communes, including bigger urban centres.

The local ballots are being closely watched to gauge the mood on the ground and potential party alliances before the election of a successor to centrist President Emmanuel Macron next year, with the far right scenting its best chance yet at seizing power.