The Interior Ministry stated that the polling stations in metropolitan France opened at 08:00 hours (local time) and will remain open until 20:00 hours (local time); most will close at 18:00 hours (local time).

More than 50,000 lists were registered, with approximately 900,000 candidates, in the elections to elect councilors, who will then elect the mayors of 34,944 municipalities and districts of Paris, Lyon, and Marseille.

The second round of elections will be held next Sunday.

Several aspects of the 2026 municipal elections in France are of particular interest, including the scope of the far-right National Rally (RN) political party, whose support has grown significantly in the last few years, to the point that it is the clear favorite for the first round of next year’s presidential votes.

Polls show Socialist candidate Emmanuel Gregoire with a lead in the first round, not far ahead of Conservative candidate Rachida Dati, and with the intriguing prospect that three other aspirants can reach the second round: the government’s Pierre-Yves Bournazel, the far-right Reconquista party’s Sarah Knafo, and the independent Sophia Chikirou.

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