For the first time, the National Rally (RN) is poised to field lists in five Corrèze communes for the 2026 municipal elections. This advance builds on the party's success in the 2024 European and legislative elections in this region historically rooted in left-wing and Gaullist traditions. Outgoing officials and residents voice surprise at this development.
Corrèze, a region historically shaped by communist, Gaullist, and socialist influences, is witnessing an unprecedented far-right presence in the 2026 municipal elections. The National Rally, successor to the Front National co-founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen, is preparing candidacies in five communes: Tulle, Brive-la-Gaillarde, Allassac, Saint-Pantaléon-de-Larche, and Uzerche. In other towns, lists sharing RN ideas may run without its flame logo.
In Uzerche, dubbed the 'pearl of Limousin,' outgoing communist mayor Jean-Paul Grador, involved for thirty years, reacts with dismay. 'No,' he says, he would 'never' have imagined this upon handing over. Son of a resistance fighter and former railway worker, he adds: 'Our elders must be turning in their graves. Corrèze, a martyred land, a land of resistance and welcome… We thought we were spared.'
This RN advance stems from its 2024 electoral breakthrough. Catherine Chambras, first deputy and independent candidate on a left-wing list in Uzerche, observes: 'Here, they used to get a small 10% [9% in the 2017 legislatives and 15% in 2022]. In 2024, they jumped to 30%. Figures we'd never seen around here.' This surge prompted former President François Hollande to run in the 1st constituency, which he won.
Reactions highlight the contrast with the region's moderate history, where left-wing and Gaullist forces have long prevailed. Portraits of figures like François Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac, and François Hollande adorn Uzerche's wedding hall, evoking this past.
