In Paris, the reform of the electoral system for the 2026 local elections has made the left-wing howl – illustrative photo
POLITICS – “Maneuvering”. The left in Paris was up in arms on the evening of Tuesday, January 16th after the intervention of President Emmanuel Macron who pleaded for reform of the municipal electoral system in Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Ideally, this would happen before the next elections in 2026, where the battle is expected to be fierce.
During a press conference, Emmanuel Macron made more suggestions to the right.
“The only thing I want for Paris is for a voter to have the same rights and count as much in Paris as in Amiens, Besançon or elsewhere. And so the government and Parliament can decide on a profound reform of the Paris-Lyon-Marseille law to return to common law,” said the head of state on Tuesday during a press conference at the Elysée.
Under the PLM law of December 31, 1982, municipal elections in Paris, Lyon, and Marseille are held by districts or sectors, and not at the city level. It is then the municipal councilors elected in each sector who elect the mayor during the first municipal council at the central city hall.
“If these three cities have a particular system of voting, it is important to note that elsewhere in the country, the election of the mayor is never done through a direct universal suffrage. No matter the city, it is always the municipal councilors, directly elected, who then vote to choose the mayor.
This was emphasized by Paris socialist senator Rémi Féraud. Emmanuel Grégoire, the deputy mayor of Anne Hidalgo, who is likely to run for her succession, also denounced “electoral maneuvering,” in line with Ian Brossat, senator and co-president of the communist group in the Paris Council. “10 million poor, 4 million poorly housed, energy prices exploding…and we’re going to occupy Parliament with an electoral maneuvering of the voting system in Paris, Lyon, Marseille! Nothing else to do?” echoed the elected official.
Reforming the voting system in Paris, Lyon, and Marseille just 2 years before the local elections is electoral manipulation? When the project is led by those who are themselves candidates, then yes!
A deadline for reform
The battle for City Hall is raging among potential candidates. Beyond the socialists, former Paris deputy Pierre-Yves Bournazel, a member of Édouard Philippe’s party Horizons, is in the running. Rachida Dati, mayor of the VIIth district, excluded from LR after entering the government, confirmed her candidacy on Wednesday. And others, from the ranks of Renaissance, have repeatedly shown their interest, like former minister Clément Beaune.
Immediately after the green light from the president, the boss of the Renaissance deputies, Sylvain Maillard, announced the filing “in the coming weeks” of a bill to reform the voting system. Because even though the election is two years away, there is still urgency to achieve the reform. As our colleagues in L’Opinion remind us, it is customary that a modification of the voting system takes place no later than a year before the election date. This means by March 2025, at the latest, in order to avoid triggering an outcry.
