French Municipal Elections: Defeats for Hurmic in Bordeaux and Bayrou in Pau

The second round of the 2026 French municipal elections saw significant results, including the defeat of incumbent Bordeaux mayor Pierre Hurmic by Thomas Cazenave and the defeat of François Bayrou in Pau by Jérôme Marbot. Additionally, Grégory Doucet retained the mayorship of Lyon.

Key points

• Thomas Cazenave (Renaissance, supported by right/center parties) won Bordeaux with 50.95% against Pierre Hurmic (Ecologist/Left coalition) at 49.05%.
• Jérôme Marbot (Socialist) defeated incumbent Pau mayor François Bayrou by a narrow margin of 344 votes (42.45% vs 41.14%).
• Grégory Doucet (Ecologists, LFI, PS, PCF, Génération.s) secured re-election in Lyon with 50.4% against Jean-Michel Aulas (unaffiliated, supported by LR, Renaissance, etc.) at 49.6%.
• Former President François Hollande criticized the PS leadership for an "impasse" resulting from "union for union" agreements, particularly with LFI.
• Raphaël Glucksmann (Place publique) called for a clear left-wing stance against rising racism and antisemitism.

Why it matters

These municipal election results reflect shifts in local political power across major French cities and highlight internal divisions within the French left regarding alliances.