Marine Le Pen’s far-right party racked up gains in the first round of municipal elections across France on Sunday, in a sign of its growing appeal ahead of next year’s presidential election.
Voters in France’s 35,000 municipalities largely elect their mayors based on local issues and personalities, but this year’s ballot has become a key test of parties’ strategies, strengths and appetite for forming alliances before next year’s presidential election to succeed Emmanuel Macron.
For Le Pen and her Rassemblement National (National Rally) lieutenant Jordan Bardella, the first round showed progress on their strategy of expanding in the south to complement their traditional power base in the industrial north. In Marseille and Nice, candidates came in first or second, putting them in a strong position for the run-offs on March 22. RN candidates also did well in Perpignan and Toulon, where far-right parties have long been popular.