Mayoral races test political mood ahead of 2027 election

PARIS: French voters went to the polls yesterday to pick mayors and council-lors in elections widely seen as a barometer of France's political mood ahead of the high-stakes 2027 presidential race.

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A sign reads "two ballot boxes, two votes" to guide voters, during the first round of the French mayoral election at a polling station in Marseille, France, yesterday.

(REUTERS)

Marine Le Pen's ascendant far-right party views next year's contest as its strongest chance yet to take power, with centrist President Emmanuel Macron constitutionally barred from running again.

The elections in 35,000 villages, towns and cities will take place over two rounds held on consecutive Sundays.

Although municipal elections in France tend to revolve around local issues and follow a different logic from national contests, analysts say they will help gauge the political climate in the EU's second-biggest economy and only nuclear power.

Francois Kraus, head of political studies at the IFOP polling institute, said that the municipal vote should not be seen as a "primary for the presidential election", but would nonetheless reveal key trends and dynamics.

"These municipal elections will no doubt provide a useful barometer of the political climate," he said.