See who is running to be mayor in your local commune

France’s 2026 municipal elections are on the horizon, with thousands of mayors set to be elected across the country’s communes. 

Held in two rounds on Sunday March 15 and Sunday March 22, the elections will return local councillors, who will in turn appoint a new mayor.

French and EU citizens in all 34,875 communes will be eligible to vote (including by proxy) in the elections.

Physical voters can find information such as their polling station on their electoral card.

Candidates had until Thursday February 26 to announce their intention to run in the election, either as an independent candidate, or otherwise supported by or officially part of a political party or alliance. 

Following this, the full list of candidates is now available. 

Media outlet France3 has compiled an interactive list showing the official candidates in all communes.

You can click on your department (numerical list) before searching an alphabetical list to find your commune. 

This will show all candidates, their ‘list’ (who is running with them) and their party allegiance where applicable. 

What do mayors do?

As the head of local mairies, mayors have an important role in French political and community life, especially in smaller communes. 

This can come as a surprise for people who move to France from countries such as the UK, where mayors are historically (outside of major cities such as London) more limited in power and sometimes seen as more ceremonial.

Mayors head the local council, and are responsible for the day-to-day running of communes. They help:

• Set and adhere to local budgets

• Organise local revenue raising (such as the taxe foncière property tax) 

• Oversee municipal projects, including infrastructure 

• Manage local law enforcement action within their communes and act as a officier de police judiciaire for events inside their commune 

• Ensure the commune’s Civil Register and its vital information is kept up to date

Alongside this, they run the local mairie, the first spot for any residents’ queries and the recipient of many local demands including planning permission.