The municipal elections on March 15 and 22 will elect not only mayors but also community councilors for intercommunalités, or 'intercos.' These structures, grouping communes to handle key local competencies, remain little known to the public despite their central role. Anne Terlez, vice president of Agglo Seine-Eure, stresses the need to raise voter awareness of this dual stake.
France's municipal elections extend beyond choosing mayors. They also select councilors for intercommunalités, essential groupings of communes in territorial governance. Depending on areas, these 'intercos' form as communities of communes, urban communities, or metropolises.
The vote on Sundays, March 15 and 22, will pave the way for the senatorial elections in September 2026, as senators are largely elected by municipal councilors. Yet, much of local competencies – such as land planning or public services – are now handled by these intercommunalités, making their election vital.
'It is important that our citizens understand this dual-stake election well,' because 'a large part of the competencies on our territories are exercised by intercommunalités,' stated Anne Terlez, vice president of Agglo Seine-Eure and the Intercommunalités de France association, at a late January press conference in Paris.
Despite their significance, the role and operations of intercos remain unclear to many voters. Electoral campaigns do not always help clarify this. In 2020, political scientists Rémi Lefebvre and Sébastien Vignon observed that 'candidates fear weakening the belief in mayors' action capacity' and 'harming mobilization' in municipal elections by emphasizing these structures.
This lack of clarity endures, even as intercos manage an increasing share of local decisions, directly affecting citizens' daily lives.