French election terms to know ahead of les municipales

People living in France will be aware that les élections municipales 2026 are coming up, as party posters cover town centres and promotional flyers are posted through letter boxes. 

Municipal elections allow the citizens of France’s 34,875 communes to elect their conseillers municipaux (local councillors) and maires (mayors). 

This vote determines who will lead the area for the next six years, impacting projects such as school maintenance and management of sports and cultural facilities - however local safety is the most important factor for French citizens ahead of this year’s vote, according to a sondage (poll) conducted for media outlets Les Echos and Radio Classique.

French elections often include two rounds of voting on successive weekends, with the upcoming municipales taking place on March 15 for le premier tour and March 22 for le second tour.

The time between each vote (l’entre-deux tours) is crucial for candidates as they decide whether to continue, merge or withdraw their campaign.

Some municipalities will only need a single round of voting if one liste (party list) obtains an absolute majority. In others, the election can turn into a two-way contest between two lists (duel), a three-way contest (triangulaire), or a four-way contest (quadrangulaire).

In small communes, panachage is permitted, where voters strike out names on a list and replace them with ones from another.

A person can also make a vote blanc (blank vote) if they want to show a desire to vote but not for any of the available candidates.

French speakers sometimes use the expression aller à la pêche (literally: to go fishing) to say that they will not be voting. This implies that they believe they have something better to do with their time, much like the English expression: to have other fish to fry.

Vocabulary for the polling station

All French citizens of legal age who are registered on the electoral roll can vote in municipal elections, and EU citizens living in France can also participate. People can also vote by procuration (proxy).

Other types of elections also exist: présidentielles speaks for itself, while législatives refers to parliamentary elections – to elect MPs. 

In each case, voters will se rendre aux urnes (go to the ballot box) to vote. 

Voting takes place in a bureau de vote, often a public place, equipped with isoloirs (voting booths) so you can place your cross on your bulletin de vote (ballot) in privacy.

Before voting in person you will be asked for your carte électorale (voting card) or passport.

A candidate’s étiquette refers to their political leaning, whereas an independent candidate is deemed sans étiquette. 

The turnout is called la participation. Then, there is le dépouillement (count).

Talking about national politics in France

Beware false friends: député means MP, not ‘deputy’, and you may hear député maire, meaning someone who is both mayor and MP. A ‘deputy mayor’ is an adjoint, and an élu is an elected official.

The gender of words for political jobs may depend on whether you are liberal (in the English sense) or a traditionalist. The latter may insist on phrases such as Mme le maire, Mme le ministre (or Mme le president…) because men have traditionally done these jobs. The former see nothing wrong with using ‘la’.

As in the UK with ‘Number 10’, French politics includes several addresses indicating seats of power, including the Elysée, Matignon (prime minister), Bercy (finance ministry) and Quai d’Orsay (foreign ministry).

If you would like us to explain a particular word or expression, or if you have any other Learning French suggestions, let us know at: feedback@connexionfrance.com