List deposits closed Tuesday evening, setting lineups for the municipal elections second round on March 22. Numerous alliances, technical fusions, and withdrawals—especially on the left between LFI and PS—have simplified duels and triangulaires. Nearly 124,097 candidates compete in 1526 communes.
After the first round on March 15, intense negotiations between party leaderships led to multiple adjustments before list deposits closed Tuesday at 6 pm. French voters will go to the polls on Sunday March 22 in the remaining 1526 communes, with 4221 lists and 124,097 qualified candidates, down from 4972 initially possible for the second round, per Le Figaro Fig Data and Infographie Service. Configurations evolved: 548 duels, 803 triangulaires, 159 quadrangulaires, and 16 quinquangulaires, including a former septangulaire turned quinquangulaire in Saint-Jean-de-Védas (Hérault) due to withdrawals. At the first round, 33,310 communes already elected their councils, including Béziers, Cannes, and Perpignan where incumbents were re-elected on March 15. On the left, technical fusions between LFI and PS lists emerged, such as in Toulouse where François Piquemal (LFI) and François Briançon (PS) merged, prompting backlash from local business leaders against an “anticapitalist” program. Notable duels include Lyon (Jean-Michel Aulas vs. ecologist Grégory Doucet), Toulon (RN Laure Lavalette vs. divers droite Josée Massi), and Bordeaux (macronist Thomas Cazenave vs. outgoing ecologist Pierre Hurmic). In Paris, a triangulaire pits Rachida Dati (LR-Horizons-Renaissance-MoDem) against Emmanuel Grégoire. The ballot is unified by the May 21, 2025 law: two-round list with majority premium for over 1,000 inhabitants, and two separate votes in Paris, Lyon, and Marseille (arrondissement and municipal councils). In contested communes, independents and the right often led after the first round.
