Pig’s head in Nice, suspense in Marseille, Édouard Philippe assembly: the weekly 2026 municipal elections | EUROtoday

► In transient

• For his final assembly earlier than the primary spherical, Emmanuel Grégoire, candidate of the united left exterior LFI for mayor of Paris, known as on his activists on Thursday night to “resist” in opposition to “the alliance of the right and the extreme right” between Rachida Dati and Sarah Knafo. “The alliance of the right and the extreme right wants to bring down Paris, because it thinks that if the capital falls, the country will fall with it, in 2027. But Paris will not fall, Paris will resist!”, launched the candidate in entrance of three,000 activists gathered on the Cirque d’Hiver, in a extremely charged ambiance.

• Her major competitor, the right-wing candidate Rachida Dati, was additionally at a gathering the identical night on the Élysée Montmartre. “I call on the union of all Parisians who want to put an end to this radical left which is destroying our city and our values,” she declared in entrance of greater than a thousand sympathizers chanting “change Paris with Dati”.

• Two males, together with a former police officer identified to Christian Estrosi, had been in police custody on Wednesday March 11 within the investigation into the pig’s head present in entrance of the house of the mayor of Nice. On the night of February 27, Christian Estrosi, who’s operating for 4^e warrant, discovered a pig’s head accompanied by a poster with a Star of David and a slur in entrance of his residence. An occasion which shook up the fratricidal marketing campaign along with his rival, the UDR deputy Éric Ciotti, ally of the National Rally, favorites within the polls. The investigation appears to rule out overseas involvement and is transferring in direction of manipulation emanating from the Estrosi camp with out it being doable to say at this stage whether or not Christian Estrosi was conscious or not, in accordance with a number of sources near the matter.

• Édouard Philippe known as on his camp on Wednesday night to “mobilize” to be “in the lead in the first round” in Le Havre, 4 days earlier than the decisive municipal elections for the president of Horizons, candidate within the presidential election. The mayor of the port metropolis gathered round 600 of his supporters on the Le Normandy theater, whereas an Opinionway ballot reveals him shedding for the primary time in opposition to the communist deputy Jean-Paul Lecoq, within the speculation of a triangular with the UDR-RN candidate Franck Keller, examined at 18% within the first spherical.

• Foreign interference. LFI candidates in Marseille and Toulouse had been the goal of a digital denigration marketing campaign, the geographical origin of which has not but been decided by the authorities. This manipulation operation follows one other operation in opposition to the center-right candidate for mayor of Paris, Pierre-Yves Bournazel, attributed by Viginum, the service answerable for combating these on-line manipulations, to a community linked to Russia.

• La France insoumise has given its situations for mergers – which the Socialist Party doesn’t wish to hear about – between left-wing lists for the second spherical of municipal elections, as soon as once more excluding any withdrawal. As for a number of days, the formation of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who goes alone within the majority of circumstances to the municipal elections, pleaded for a “technical merger each time the risk of the right and the extreme right exists”. Namely a merger between the 2 towers with the opposite left-wing lists, however with out programmatic settlement and obligation to handle the commune collectively.

► Reports in Marseille: first half

In Marseille, the left defends its report and “real life”

Le Printemps Marseille, the left-wing coalition on the head of city corridor since 2020, was born from anger in opposition to unworthy housing and unsanitary colleges in lots of neighborhoods of the Marseille metropolis. Six years later, the municipal workforce highlights its achievements in a marketing campaign that it considers taken hostage by nationwide debates.

► Reports in Marseille: second half

Marseille’s “living together” put to the take a look at by the rise of the RN

Credited with greater than 30% of voting intentions, the National Rally believes in its probabilities of successful the municipal battle in Marseille. Many residents of France’s second metropolis, cosmopolitan and multicultural for generations, are anxious in regards to the doable victory of a celebration which stays related to the rejection of foreigners.

► The battle for Paris: episode 7

The candidates all name for a “useful vote”

In the house stretch of the municipal marketing campaign earlier than a primary spherical, Sunday March 15, which guarantees to be very open in Paris, the principle candidates are all calling for a “useful vote” to persuade voters to offer them their vote.

► In Political Tuesday

Rachid Temal (PS): “The war in Iran is illegal and does not respect international law”

On the eleventh day of the warfare in Iran, the battle is spreading throughout the area. For Rachid Temal, senator from Val d’Oise and deputy president of the socialist, environmentalist and republican group within the Senate, “this war is illegal because it does not respect international law” and “the war aims of Israel and the United States are not the same”. Lebanon shouldn’t be spared, the socialist senator believes that “Hezbollah prefers the regime of the mullahs to the Lebanese people.”

► The variety of the week: 76

76 % of voters say they’re deciding on native relatively than nationwide points

An overwhelming majority of French individuals don’t take into account the political label of the mayor as a vital criterion of their electoral selection, in accordance with an Ipsos-BVA-Cesi research for Cevipof, the Jean-Jaurès basis and Le Monde revealed Monday March 9.

While sure events, such because the National Rally or La France insoumise, are attempting to nationalize the controversy to arrange the presidential election, 76% of these questioned say they’re deciding on native relatively than nationwide points.

Only 8% of French individuals take into account it vital that the mayor is “of the same political sensibility” as them whereas 64% point out his honesty, 52% the truth that he retains his guarantees and 32% that he is aware of his information properly within the standards for trusting him.

► Unusual data from the marketing campaign

In Marseille, the electoral lists embrace a surprisingly excessive variety of “supercentenarians”, aged over 110 and even the one who ought to on the identical time be the oldest of humanity, a woman of… 120 years outdated. Problem: most have really died, generally for a few years.

An anomaly famous by a number of candidates for municipal elections in France’s second metropolis, questioning the dangers of fraud. National Rally candidate Franck Allisio additionally introduced that he had made a report beneath article 40 to the general public prosecutor.

He is especially stunned that Marseille has “785 voters aged one hundred or over (…) which may raise questions in view of the demographic data usually observed”. “I know that the Mediterranean diet is the one that prolongs longevity the most, but I didn’t know that we had the oldest of humanity in Marseille,” quips the elected official.

The woman in query was born on December 24, 1905 in Italy and seems in town corridor electoral record of 11-12^e district, in accordance with a doc consulted by AFP.

Sylvain Souvestre (LR), mayor of the sector, additionally alerted the prefect to this case and “the very large number of people who died and are still registered on the electoral lists”, supporting loss of life certificates.

With AFP