Emmanuel Gregoire waves to supporters as he rides a public bike-sharing bicycle heading to Paris townhall after his victory in the mayoral election. But voters in all three of those countries, as well as those in Germany and Italy, sent a message of discontent that should set alarm bells ringing. Marine Le Pen’s National Rally failed to take control of its key targets of Marseilles, Toulon and Nîmes in France’s municipal elections on Sunday. But the party made unprecedented gains, winning dozens of mayoralties in its strongholds in the southeast and northeast of France. Elections in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate saw the far-right Alternative for Germany double its share of the vote to almost 20 per cent.

Source: The Irish Times March 26, 2026 23:42 UTC