Votes of Marine Le Pen’s party won in small towns during French municipal elections

(SeaPRwire) –   National Rally leader Jordan Bardella has stated that his party has secured seats in nearly 70 cities

Marine Le Pen’s right-wing National Rally (RN) has won support in dozens of small and mid-sized towns in France’s municipal elections, though it faced defeats in major urban centers.

Jordan Bardella, the party’s Euroskeptic and anti-immigration leader, remains a favorite in approval polls for the 2027 presidential race. RN’s former head, political heavyweight Marine Le Pen—once seen as a front-runner for the upcoming election—was sidelined last year after a French court convicted her of misusing EU funds. She maintains her innocence.

Bardella has hailed Sunday’s concluded municipal elections as a major victory for his party.

“Nearly 70 municipalities won. 3,000 RN elected officials are making their entry into municipal councils across France,” he said on X on Monday.

The RN’s biggest win came in Nice, France’s fifth-largest city and a conservative stronghold, where its ally Eric Ciotti defeated a candidate backed by Macron.

However, the party’s candidates lost in key urban hubs like Marseille, Toulon, and Nimes during Sunday’s runoffs, despite strong first-round performances.

Overall, the RN has more than tripled the number of mayoral and council positions it holds since the last municipal elections. These seats will heavily influence France’s upcoming Senate election, set to take place in September.

“We won more cities than we had hoped,” Le Pen told journalists on Sunday.

Opinion polls predict a strong showing for her protégé in the potential 2027 vote.

Bardella has emerged as the front-runner, with 37% of French people holding a favorable view of him, according to an Elabe survey conducted earlier this month. His prospective center-right rivals—former prime ministers under President Emmanuel Macron, Edouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal—garnered 33% and 32% approval ratings respectively, the poll indicated.

Macron cannot stand for reelection in 2027, having served two consecutive terms since 2017. Only a quarter of the French public currently approves of the president, per the Elabe survey.