2026 Lyon municipal election
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15 March 2026 (first round)
22 March 2026 (second round) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 73 members of the Municipal Council 37 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2026 Lyon municipal election is scheduled to take place on 15 March to elect the municipal council of Lyon (which in turn elects the mayor), with an eventual runoff on 22 March. This election follows the tenure of mayor Grégory Doucet, in office since 2020, who is running for a second term. The election is expected to be highly competitive, with Jean-Michel Aulas being the front-runner.
Background
Grégory Doucet, a member of The Ecologists (LE), was first elected mayor in 2020. LFI, that was part of his majority at the beginning, split away and LFI member Anaïs Belouassa-Cherifi announced his intention to challenge the mayor, who is running for reelection. Pierre Oliver was initially candidate for The Republicans (LR). A deal was later made between Jean-Michel Aulas, Oliver and Laurent Wauquiez with LR endorsing Aulas for mayor and Aulas taking LR members on his list. Aulas also got the support of centre-right parties Renaissance (RE) and Horizons (HOR). The National Rally (RN) decided to support Alexandre Dupalais, who is a member of the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR).
Electoral system and context
The 2026 election will be influenced by ongoing discussions about electoral reform in Lyon.[1] President Emmanuel Macron has proposed that mayors in Paris, Lyon, and Marseille be elected by direct universal suffrage rather than by an electoral college of city councilors, a system currently viewed as "anti-democratic" by some candidates.
Candidates
The Ecologists
- Grégory Doucet, incumbent Mayor
Doucet is also supported by PS, PCF and PP.
Miscellaneous right
- Jean-Michel Aulas, former president of Olympique Lyonnais
Aulas is also supported by LR, RE, HOR, UDI and MoDem.
La France Insoumise
Union of the Right for the Republic
- Alexandre Dupalais
Dupalais is also supported by RN.
Campaign
In November 2025, Grégory Doucet proposed a debate to Jean-Michel Aulas, who is the front-runner in the polls. Aulas refused and asked for an independent audit to be conducted on Doucet's mayoralty first.
On 12 February 2026, following the murder of Quentin Deranque [2] , Dupalais, Aulas and Belouassa-Cherifi suspended their campaigns, while Doucet pledged to support the investigation.[3]
Polling
First round
| Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Sample size |
Briday LO |
Mizony NPA-R |
Belouassa-Cherifi LFI |
Doucet LE |
Perrin-Gilbert DVG |
Képénékian DVC |
Aulas DVD |
Dupalais UDR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ipsos | 13-27 Jan 2026 | 603 | — | — | 8% | 30% | 5% | 5% | 44% | 8% |
| OpinionWay | 12-19 Jan 2026 | 605 | <1% | 3% | 8% | 25% | 3% | 4% | 47% | 10% |
| OpinionWay | 8-12 Dec 2025 | 600 | <1% | 2% | 9% | 25% | 4% | 4% | 46% | 10% |
| Ifop | 1-5 Nov 2025 | 809 | — | — | 9% | 27% | 4% | 7% | 47% | 6% |
| OpinionWay | 15-20 Oct 2025 | 602 | 1% | — | 10% | 24% | 7% | 3% | 47% | 8% |
| Verian | 17-30 Sep 2025 | 816 | — | — | 15% | 23% | 7% | — | 47% | 8% |
Second round
| Polling firm | Fieldwork date | Sample size |
Doucet LE |
Aulas DVD |
Dupalais UDR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OpinionWay | 12-19 Jan 2026 | 605 | 37% | 53% | 10% |
| OpinionWay | 8-12 Dec 2025 | 600 | 40% | 60% | — |
| Ifop | 1-5 Nov 2025 | 809 | 39% | 61% | — |
| Verian | 17-30 Sep 2025 | 816 | 39% | 61% | — |
Results
| Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | Seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | Nb. | +/- | |||
| Delphine Briday | LO | |||||||
| Raphaëlle Mizony | NPA-R | |||||||
| Anaïs Belouassa-Cherifi | LFI | |||||||
| Grégory Doucet | LE-PS-PCF-PP | |||||||
| Nathalie Perrin-Gilbert | PRG-MRC | |||||||
| Georges Képénékian | DVC | |||||||
| Jean-Michel Aulas | LR-RE-HOR-UDI-MoDem | |||||||
| Alexandre Dupalais | UDR-RN | |||||||
| Registered voters | 100,00 | 100,00 | ||||||
| Abstention | ||||||||
| Total votes | ||||||||
| Blank or invalid votes | ||||||||
| Valid votes | ||||||||
Arrondissement mayors
| Arrondissement | Outgoing Mayor | Party | Elected Mayor | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lyon | Grégory Doucet | LE | ||||
| 1st | Yasmine Bouagga | LE | ||||
| 2nd | Pierre Oliver | LR | ||||
| 3rd | Marion Sessiecq | LE | ||||
| 4th | Rémi Zinck | LE | ||||
| 5th | Nadine Georgel | LE | ||||
| 6th | Pascal Blache | HOR | ||||
| 7th | Fanny Dubot | LE | ||||
| 8th | Olivier Berzane | LE | ||||
| 9th | Anne Braibant | LE | ||||
References
- ^ Thompson, Hannah (10 April 2025). "Local election rule changes in France and why you may have a new mayor in 2026". Connexion France. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
- ^ "Arrests in French far-right activist murder case follow misinformation". euronews. 17 February 2026. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
- ^ "Mort de Quentin : la campagne municipale suspendue à Lyon". Sud-Ouest (in French). 15 February 2026. Retrieved 17 February 2026.