By presenting a record number of 650 lists, the National Rally hopes to win “several dozen municipalities” during the municipal elections (March 15 and 22). The far-right party thus intends to continue its current dynamic and then head straight towards the 2027 presidential election.

Published on: 02/17/2026 - 3:39 p.m.

Do better than in 2020 and confirm its electoral momentum. The National Rally is making the municipal elections of March 15 and 22, 2026 a major event which should propel it towards the 2027 presidential election by preparing the “alternation” that its president, Jordan Bardella, is calling for.

The far-right party has been in constant progress since 2022 and the score of 41.45% obtained by Marine Le Pen in the second round of the presidential election. In June of the same year, he obtained 89 deputies in the National Assembly. Then 125 during the early legislative elections of July 2024, which followed a first place in the European elections gleaned a month earlier with 31.37% of the votes and the election of 30 MEPs.

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The National Rally (RN) hopes to continue this momentum and not miss a local election which did not smile on it six years ago. Apart from Louis Aliot's victory in Perpignan, the RN's results were rather mixed in 2020. This time, a record number of 650 lists are presented throughout France. “We intend to weigh like never before in all local elections,” said its president Jordan Bardella on January 12, during his greetings to the press.

For the RN, it will first be a question of retaining its towns (Beaucaire, Bruay-la-Buissière, Fréjus, Hayange, Hénin-Beaumont, Le Pontet, Moissac, Perpignan, Villers-Cotterêts, in particular), but also of obtaining significant victories. Toulon, where RN MP and spokesperson Laure Lavalette is campaigning, is the main target, as are the cities of Carcassonne, Menton and Lens. The RN also dreams of Marseille, where deputy Franck Allisio is neck and neck with the left-wing coalition of the outgoing mayor, Benoît Payan.

“There can be several dozen National Rally communities,” said Jordan Bardella on January 22 on Cnews and Europe 1. “When we go to elections, we rarely go to lose them, and I am a fighter,” he added.

“Give weight to the rooting of the RN”

The comparison with the results of the Les Républicains party will be particularly scrutinized, the RN aiming to conquer what remains of the LR electorate. The attitude of the two parties in the second round could also send a signal a little over a year before the presidential election.

Asked about this on February 7, Jordan Bardella replied that he was not excluding anything “on principle”. “The main thing today is that the French grant, and that the patriots grant, the lists of the National Rally and its allies the strongest possible dynamic in the first round,” said the MEP on BFMTV.

“Regarding the second round, we will obviously do it on a case by case basis. (...) Now, I am not closed to there being discussions on potential union lists or assembly lists in the second round if, obviously, there is a danger of seeing the extreme left seize a certain number of municipalities,” he added.

See also Municipal elections in Marseille: duel between left and far right in sight

Beyond the municipal elections, the National Rally will have in mind the senatorial elections in September, during which it is the local elected officials who vote. The RN, which already has four senators out of 348, believes it can increase to ten to have the right to form a parliamentary group.

The string of successes in the municipal and senatorial elections would then put Marine Le Pen, or Jordan Bardella in the event of the MP's conviction on July 7 to a sentence of ineligibility, in orbit towards the Élysée.

“Winning municipalities a few months before the presidential election will obviously give weight to the dynamics and roots of the RN,” underlined the party boss during his wishes to the press. “Not only can we win a certain number of municipalities in a few weeks and we can be the party that succeeds Emmanuel Macron in less than 15 months.”

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