Political scientist Simon Persico believes ecologists have little to gain in the March 15 and 22 municipal elections. The 2020 local polls saw an exceptional green breakthrough. Six years on, the political landscape has shifted.
Simon Persico, a political scientist and director of Sciences Po Grenoble, discusses ecologists' prospects for the 2026 municipal elections in an interview with Le Monde. A member of the supervisory board of the Fondation de l’écologie politique, he co-authored a note with Florent Gougou titled 'Vers un écologisme municipal ? Promesses de campagne et action politique des mairies vertes en France' (Fondation de l’écologie politique, 2023).
In 2020, Europe Écologie-Les Verts (EELV), renamed Les Écologistes in 2023, achieved a spectacular breakthrough dubbed the 'vague verte'. The party captured six cities with over 100,000 inhabitants: Lyon, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Tours, Besançon, and Annecy. It was re-elected in Grenoble, previously won in 2014 by Éric Piolle. This progress, exceptional at the European level for a green party, stemmed largely from defeats of right-wing incumbents within varied left-wing alliances.
Additionally, ecologists joined or rejoined municipal majorities in about ten cities over 100,000 residents, including Paris, Marseille, Montpellier, Rouen, Rennes, Brest (Finistère), Nancy, and Nantes. Persico notes that ecology has become 'much more divisive' than in 2020, curbing potential gains in the March 15 and 22 polls.
