# 2026 Nice municipal election

The 2026 Nice municipal election was held on 15 March 2026, with a second round on 22 March, to elect the 69 members of the municipal council of Nice, France, and through them the mayor.<sup>[1](https://www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr/municipales2026/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[2](https://www.nice.fr/les-differents-types-delections/)</sup> [Éric Ciotti](https://www.edgepedia.org/eric-ciotti), a former president of Les Républicains who had allied his own party with the far-right Rassemblement National, defeated the incumbent mayor Christian Estrosi, ending nearly 17 years of Estrosi-led rule in the city.<sup>[3](https://www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr/municipales2026/ensemble_geographique/93/06/06088/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[4](https://www.nicepremium.fr/elections-2026/municipales-2026-a-nice-qui-sont-les-sept-candidats-a-lelection/)</sup>

| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Dates | First round 15 March 2026; second round 22 March 2026<sup>[1](https://www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr/municipales2026/)</sup> |
| Seats contested | 69 seats on the municipal council; 66 on the Nice Côte d'Azur metropolitan council<sup>[2](https://www.nice.fr/les-differents-types-delections/)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[3](https://www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr/municipales2026/ensemble_geographique/93/06/06088/)</sup> |
| Winner | Éric Ciotti, UDR list "Le meilleur est à venir avec Éric Ciotti": 48.54% of votes expressed, 61,009 votes, 52 council seats<sup>[3](https://www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr/municipales2026/ensemble_geographique/93/06/06088/)</sup> |
| Runner-up | Christian Estrosi, Horizons-led "Tous pour Nice": 37.20%, 46,753 votes, 13 seats<sup>[3](https://www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr/municipales2026/ensemble_geographique/93/06/06088/)</sup> |
| Third list | Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux, left-green union "Unis pour Nice": 14.26%, 17,926 votes, 4 seats<sup>[3](https://www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr/municipales2026/ensemble_geographique/93/06/06088/)</sup> |
| First round | Ciotti 43.43%; Estrosi 30.92%; Chesnel-Le Roux 11.93%; Mireille Damiano (LFI) 8.95%<sup>[3](https://www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr/municipales2026/ensemble_geographique/93/06/06088/)</sup> |
| Turnout | Second round: 55.92% of 229,109 registered voters; abstention 44.08%<sup>[3](https://www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr/municipales2026/ensemble_geographique/93/06/06088/)</sup> |

## Background

Christian Estrosi had been mayor of Nice since 2008, with his tenure interrupted between 2016 and 2017 by his role as delegated president of the [Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur](https://www.edgepedia.org/provence-alpes-cote-dazur) regional council; the 2026 vote was his fourth time seeking the office.<sup>[4](https://www.nicepremium.fr/elections-2026/municipales-2026-a-nice-qui-sont-les-sept-candidats-a-lelection/)</sup> His main challenger, Éric Ciotti, was a local member of parliament and former leader of Les Républicains who in 2024 launched his own movement, the [Union of the Right for the Republic](https://www.edgepedia.org/union-of-the-right-for-the-republic) (UDR), and allied it with the Rassemblement National.<sup>[5](https://www.ladepeche.fr/2026/01/25/municipales-2026-a-nice-qui-sont-les-candidats-on-vous-explique-les-enjeux-de-lelection-13179262.php)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[6](https://apnews.com/article/34784eeeaf04f4735f7e8e3ed33c23ad)</sup> The race between the two former allies was widely framed as a fight over whether the mainstream right could hold the city against a list backed by the far right.<sup>[5](https://www.ladepeche.fr/2026/01/25/municipales-2026-a-nice-qui-sont-les-candidats-on-vous-explique-les-enjeux-de-lelection-13179262.php)</sup>

The contest carried national weight. The March 2026 municipal elections across France, with almost 900,000 candidates, were read as a test of the political balance ahead of the 2027 presidential election.<sup>[7](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2026/03/09/one-week-before-france-s-local-elections-electorate-leans-right-poll-shows_6751261_5.html)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[8](https://apnews.com/article/1e6af62a55b0d69c5d336f254b612236)</sup> For the [National Rally](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-rally), the result in Nice mattered beyond the city: analysts at [Sciences Po](https://www.edgepedia.org/sciences-po)'s CEVIPOF noted that only Ciotti managed to convert an RN alliance into control of a city of more than 100,000 inhabitants, adding Nice to [Perpignan](https://www.edgepedia.org/perpignan) on the movement's list of such wins.<sup>[9](https://www.sciencespo.fr/cevipof/sites/sciencespo.fr.cevipof/files/Municipales2026_ENG_AnalysisResultslocalElections.pdf)</sup>

## Electoral system

Nice, like all communes of more than 1,000 inhabitants, used a two-round party-list system combining majority voting and proportional representation.<sup>[2](https://www.nice.fr/les-differents-types-delections/)</sup> A list winning an absolute majority of votes expressed in the first round takes half of the 69 seats, with the rest distributed proportionally among lists above 5%; if no list reaches that majority, a second round is held in which only lists with at least 10% of first-round votes expressed may stand.<sup>[2](https://www.nice.fr/les-differents-types-delections/)</sup> The winning list receives a majority premium (bonus half of council seats awarded to the winning list) of 50% of the seats, and the remaining seats are shared proportionally.<sup>[10](https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/particuliers/actualites/A18432?lang=en)</sup> Under the premium, Ciotti's 48.54% translated into 52 of 69 council seats, giving him a controlling majority and the mayoralty.<sup>[3](https://www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr/municipales2026/ensemble_geographique/93/06/06088/)</sup>

## Candidates and polling

Seven lists ran in the first round.<sup>[3](https://www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr/municipales2026/ensemble_geographique/93/06/06088/)</sup> Besides Ciotti and Estrosi, the field included Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux leading the left-green "Unis pour Nice" list, Mireille Damiano of La France Insoumise, Céline Forjonnel with an independent direct-democracy list, Cédric Vella of Reconquête, and Estelle Jaquet of Lutte Ouvrière.<sup>[3](https://www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr/municipales2026/ensemble_geographique/93/06/06088/)</sup>

Polling through the campaign showed Ciotti ahead. An Ifop survey of 608 registered voters conducted by telephone from 16 to 20 February 2026 credited the Ciotti list with 38% of first-round intentions against 32% for Estrosi, 12% for Chesnel-Le Roux and 11% for Damiano; in a hypothetical head-to-head runoff the two right-wing rivals were tied at 50/50.<sup>[11](https://www.ifopgroup.com/en/article/the-political-climate-in-nice)</sup> A later poll reported by Le Parisien gave Ciotti 41% and Estrosi 30% of first-round intentions.<sup>[12](https://www.leparisien.fr/elections/municipales/municipales-a-nice-bataille-de-sondages-entre-ciotti-et-estrosi-28-02-2026-5XYB6H5CXJEBBB7KLLRTAZ7GOA.php)</sup> An elabe exit estimate on election night put the first round at 42.6% for Ciotti and 31.3% for Estrosi, close to the official 43.43% and 30.92%.<sup>[13](https://elabe.fr/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/estimations_elabe_bergerlevrault_bfmtv_lefigaro_rmc_1ertour_nice_21h24.pdf)</sup>

Campaign disputes drew in national figures. The Les Républicains president [Bruno Retailleau](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruno-retailleau) declined to endorse either man, overriding the party's national nomination committee, which had named Dominique Estrosi-Sassone, Estrosi's ex-wife and a member of his list, as the LR lead candidate in Nice; the LR-backed Estrosi ultimately went down to defeat.<sup>[14](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2026/03/19/in-nice-right-wing-leader-s-refusal-to-choose-between-the-right-and-far-right-sows-confusion_6751613_5.html)</sup><sup> • </sup><sup>[15](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2026/03/23/les-republicains-claim-symbolic-victories-over-the-left-in-municipal-elections-but-struggle-in-france-s-largest-cities_6751712_5.html)</sup> The campaign also touched city institutions: contracts between [OGC Nice](https://www.edgepedia.org/ogc-nice) and the city, combined with the club president's recent return to that role, revived debate over an incompatibility rule in article L231 of the electoral code.<sup>[16](https://www.nicepremium.fr/elections-2026/municipales-2026-a-nice-tour-dhorizon-des-annonces-de-campagne/)</sup> Chesnel-Le Roux's campaign proposed annual savings of 15 to 25 million euros without cutting operational jobs.<sup>[16](https://www.nicepremium.fr/elections-2026/municipales-2026-a-nice-tour-dhorizon-des-annonces-de-campagne/)</sup>

## Results

In the first round Ciotti's list led with 43.43% of votes expressed (52,274 votes), ahead of Estrosi (30.92%, 37,214 votes) and Chesnel-Le Roux (11.93%, 14,356 votes); no list reached the absolute majority needed to win outright.<sup>[3](https://www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr/municipales2026/ensemble_geographique/93/06/06088/)</sup> Of the 229,111 registered voters, 53.58% voted.<sup>[3](https://www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr/municipales2026/ensemble_geographique/93/06/06088/)</sup>

In the second round, turnout rose to 55.92%.<sup>[3](https://www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr/municipales2026/ensemble_geographique/93/06/06088/)</sup> Ciotti won 48.54% of votes expressed against 37.20% for Estrosi and 14.26% for Chesnel-Le Roux, the only three lists to clear the 10% first-round threshold.<sup>[3](https://www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr/municipales2026/ensemble_geographique/93/06/06088/)</sup> [Le Monde](https://www.edgepedia.org/le-monde) reported Ciotti's first-round lead as 43.4% to 30.9% over the incumbent, a margin described as placing the RN ally "well ahead" in France's fifth-biggest city.<sup>[17](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/les-decodeurs/article/2026/03/16/2026-french-municipal-elections-results-in-key-cities_6751486_8.html)</sup> Under the seat rules the Ciotti list took 52 seats, Estrosi's 13, and Chesnel-Le Roux's 4.<sup>[3](https://www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr/municipales2026/ensemble_geographique/93/06/06088/)</sup>

In his concession speech, Estrosi announced he would not seek re-election to his municipal offices and would "take the necessary step back," withdrawing from local political life after the defeat.<sup>[18](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6ECnXT9hGM)</sup> Le Monde's post-election analysis described the loss as the most stinging defeat suffered by [Édouard Philippe](https://www.edgepedia.org/edouard-philippe)'s party, Horizons, of which Estrosi was the incumbent mayor.<sup>[19](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2026/03/23/following-the-2026-municipal-elections-macron-s-camp-continues-its-electoral-shift-to-the-right_6751726_5.html)</sup>

## Legal challenges

The results were contested before the administrative courts. In a judgment of 9 October 2026, the Tribunal administratif de Nice annulled the election of M. Ippolito, a running mate on Ciotti's list, whom the prefect of the [Alpes-Maritimes](https://www.edgepedia.org/alpes-maritimes) considered ineligible as a municipal service contractor, and therefore ineligible for both the municipal council and the Nice Côte d'Azur metropolitan council. The court rejected all other challenges and validated the overall election result.<sup>[20](https://nice.tribunal-administratif.fr/decisions-de-justice/dernieres-decisions/elections-municipales-de-nice-le-tribunal-declare-ineligible-m.-ippolito-mais-valide-le-resultat-du-scrutin)</sup>

After the vote, Ciotti as mayor-elect also pressed an alternative bid for Nice to host the ice competitions of the 2030 Winter Olympics, in rivalry with the project of the regional president, adding a further national arena to the city's changed politics.<sup>[21](https://www.lemonde.fr/elections-municipales-2026/)</sup>

## References

1. [Municipales 2026, Ministry of the Interior results portal](https://www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr/municipales2026/)
2. [Les différents types d'élections, Ville de Nice](https://www.nice.fr/les-differents-types-delections/)
3. [Résultats Municipales 2026, Nice (06088), Ministry of the Interior](https://www.resultats-elections.interieur.gouv.fr/municipales2026/ensemble_geographique/93/06/06088/)
4. [Municipales 2026 à Nice : qui sont les sept candidats à l'élection ?, Nice Premium](https://www.nicepremium.fr/elections-2026/municipales-2026-a-nice-qui-sont-les-sept-candidats-a-lelection/)
5. [Municipales 2026 à Nice : qui sont les candidats ?, La Dépêche](https://www.ladepeche.fr/2026/01/25/municipales-2026-a-nice-qui-sont-les-candidats-on-vous-explique-les-enjeux-de-lelection-13179262.php)
6. [France's far right makes gains in first-round municipal elections, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/34784eeeaf04f4735f7e8e3ed33c23ad)
7. [One week before France's local elections, electorate leans right, poll shows, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2026/03/09/one-week-before-france-s-local-elections-electorate-leans-right-poll-shows_6751261_5.html)
8. [Socialist Grégoire becomes Paris mayor as the far right wins Nice, AP News](https://apnews.com/article/1e6af62a55b0d69c5d336f254b612236)
9. [The March 2026 local elections: analysis, CEVIPOF, Sciences Po](https://www.sciencespo.fr/cevipof/sites/sciencespo.fr.cevipof/files/Municipales2026_ENG_AnalysisResultslocalElections.pdf)
10. [Municipal elections 2026: the voting system is changing, Service-Public.fr](https://www.service-public.gouv.fr/particuliers/actualites/A18432?lang=en)
11. [The political climate in Nice, Ifop Group](https://www.ifopgroup.com/en/article/the-political-climate-in-nice)
12. [Municipales 2026 à Nice : la bataille de sondages entre Ciotti et Estrosi, Le Parisien](https://www.leparisien.fr/elections/municipales/municipales-a-nice-bataille-de-sondages-entre-ciotti-et-estrosi-28-02-2026-5XYB6H5CXJEBBB7KLLRTAZ7GOA.php)
13. [Estimation du premier tour, Nice, elabe](https://elabe.fr/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/estimations_elabe_bergerlevrault_bfmtv_lefigaro_rmc_1ertour_nice_21h24.pdf)
14. [In Nice, right-wing leader's refusal to choose sows confusion, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2026/03/19/in-nice-right-wing-leader-s-refusal-to-choose-between-the-right-and-far-right-sows-confusion_6751613_5.html)
15. [Les Républicains claim symbolic victories, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2026/03/23/les-republicains-claim-symbolic-victories-over-the-left-in-municipal-elections-but-struggle-in-france-s-largest-cities_6751712_5.html)
16. [Municipales 2026 à Nice : tour d'horizon des annonces de campagne, Nice Premium](https://www.nicepremium.fr/elections-2026/municipales-2026-a-nice-tour-dhorizon-des-annonces-de-campagne/)
17. [2026 French municipal elections: Results in key cities, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/les-decodeurs/article/2026/03/16/2026-french-municipal-elections-results-in-key-cities_6751486_8.html)
18. [Local elections 2026: C. Estrosi withdraws from local political life, franceinfo (YouTube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6ECnXT9hGM)
19. [Following the 2026 municipal elections, Macron's camp continues its electoral shift to the right, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2026/03/23/following-the-2026-municipal-elections-macron-s-camp-continues-its-electoral-shift-to-the-right_6751726_5.html)
20. [Élections municipales de Nice : le tribunal déclare inéligible M. Ippolito mais valide le résultat du scrutin, Tribunal administratif de Nice](https://nice.tribunal-administratif.fr/decisions-de-justice/dernieres-decisions/elections-municipales-de-nice-le-tribunal-declare-ineligible-m.-ippolito-mais-valide-le-resultat-du-scrutin)
21. [Élections municipales 2026, actualités, Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/elections-municipales-2026/)

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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Elections and representation › Elections and referendums › National and subnational elections outside the US and UK › European elections outside the UK › French regional, departmental, and municipal elections*

*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*

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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license