It was a largely successful night for the Left in France as they held on to power in all four of the country’s biggest cities in this weekend’s local elections.
On Sunday, voters went to the polls in over 1,500 towns and cities in the second round of municipal elections for mayors and local councils.
Just like here in the UK, the elections are watched closely to gauge party popularity and opinion, and with the presidential election taking place next year there was even more significance.
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And, although there were examples of success for all parties somewhere on the night, the broad consensus is that it was the left who had the better of things as the anti-immigration National Rally (RN) fell short in key races.
The Socialists and allies won elections in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Lille in a blow to the far-right.
In Paris, Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire held off the challenge of former rightwing minister Rachida Dati, continuing 25 years of left-wing success in the French capital.
After his victory, he cycled through Paris with future councillors. Grégoire had pledged to continue pro-cycling and environmental policies in Paris.
He said in his victory speech that Paris “is not, and will never be, a far-right city.”
In Marseille, mayor Benoît Payan’s leftwing coalition including the Socialists and the Greens fought off Marine Le Pen’s RN.
Reacting to his win, Payan said Paris and Marseille, the two biggest cities in France, had delivered a “message of peace and unity.”
He described the win as one for “humanists who refuse the voices that push for division”.
Lille and Lyon also returned left-wing administrations as anti-immigration RN failed to win key cities.
The far-right’s main success came in Nice, where Le Pen ally Eric Ciotti claimed victory, whilst the RN held onto Perpignan.
But overall, the party fell short in several major cities it was targeting, such as Toulon, Nîmes and Marseille.
In the end, it was a night that was much more successful for the mainstream Socialists, whilst centre-right candidates saw success as well.