Municipal elections: From arrondissement mayorships to the capital, how is the mayor of Paris elected?

Published by Rizhlaine de Sortiraparis · Photos by My de Sortiraparis · Published on January 15, 2025 at 07:04 p.m.
During municipal elections, the composition of municipal seats in France's communes is determined by voters. In Paris, however, the procedure is different: yes, within the capital, in addition to the City of Paris, each arrondissement has its own mayor's office. So how are the arrondissement mayors and the mayor of Paris elected? Here's how it works.

Municipal elections are held every 6 years in France. They enable voters to decide on the composition of their town's municipal council, thus influencing the appointment of future mayors, according to the lists and programs proposed. Depending on the size of the municipality, whether it has more or less than 1,000 inhabitants, the election procedures differ. In the first case, a combination of a two-round majority system and a proportional system is used. In the second case, a two-round plurality system is used.

How are municipal elections different in Paris?

The city of Paris is divided into 20 arrondissements, each with its own mayor's office, with the exception ofthe first 4: the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th arrondissements have been combined since 2020 into a single sector, Paris-Centre. Voters in their arrondissement vote in favor of a list presented by the various candidates for mayor of Paris: this vote elects the arrondissement councillors and, by extension, influences the composition of the elected representatives who will sit on the Paris Council (163 seats in total). The number of seats allocated to each arrondissement is proportional to its population: the most populous arrondissements thus have more seats on the Paris Council. Between 3 and 18 elected representatives are sent to the Paris Council from each arrondissement. The Paris Council thenelects the Mayor of Paris.

When and how are Paris mayors elected?

As in municipal elections for towns with more than 1,000 inhabitants, electors vote for lists and their programs, represented by a list leader. The list with the most votes wins half the seats on the arrondissement council and the Paris city council, with the remainder allocated proportionally to the results of the votes cast among the lists with more than 5% of the vote. Elections are held in a single round if one of the lists wins an absolute majority (50% of votes). If this is not the case, a second round is organized, in which only the lists that received at least 10% of the votes in the first round may stand.

The Mayor of Paris is then elected by the Paris Council in the week following the second round of municipal elections. If no candidate is elected by absolute majority in the first and second rounds, the third round is held by relative majority. These elections also determine the future deputy mayors of Paris.

Subsequently, arrondissement mayors are elected within 8 days of the election of the Mayor of Paris by the arrondissement councils.

When are the next municipal elections in Paris?

The next elections are scheduled for March 2026 in Paris. The exact date is not yet known.

Visuels Paris - mairie - voter - législatives Visuels Paris - mairie - voter - législatives Visuels Paris - mairie - voter - législatives Visuels Paris - mairie - voter - législatives When will the next mayoral elections be held in France?
In the civic calendar, municipal elections are those that enable France's communes to elect their future mayor. Whether for Paris City Hall, the various arrondissements of the capital, the Île-de-France region or nationwide, here are the dates of the next municipal elections. [Read more]

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