Municipal election reform in Paris, Lyon and Marseille: the Assembly adopts the text again
On Monday, MPs approved, at second reading, the reform of municipal elections in Paris, Lyon and Marseille, which the majority of senators oppose but which the government is trying to push through at a rapid pace.
The text must now return to the Senate, which will examine it on Wednesday, after first rejecting it in early June. At the end of June, a joint committee (CMP) bringing together MPs and senators failed to reach a compromise on this text, which was originally Macronist and was supported by the National Rally and La France Insoumise.
Also read : What the reform of the voting system would change in Lyon
If the disagreement persists at the second reading in the Senate, the government could give the "final word" to the deputies, a possibility that has the Senate bristling. On Monday, Minister for Relations with Parliament Patrick Mignola reiterated his " hope " that an agreement between the two chambers could be reached. " I don't want, at this stage, (...) to consider what the final word would be. But this is precisely what our institutions provide for ," he added.
With less than nine months to go before the March 2026 municipal elections, the reform aims to end the voting system introduced in 1982. Currently, voters in Paris, Lyon, and Marseille vote in each district for a list of councilors, with the top-ranked members sitting on the district council and the municipal council.
In the version approved by the deputies, the text instead provides for the introduction of two ballots, one to elect district or sector councillors, the other to elect those of the municipal council, in a single constituency.
Also read : Municipal elections in Lyon: nine months before the vote, new setback for supporters of reform
This is " a major step forward for municipal democracy in our three largest cities ," declared Jean-Paul Mattei, MoDem rapporteur for the text in the Assembly. The current system is " complex " and " unclear to citizens ," while the reform would bring elections in Paris, Lyon, and Marseille " in line with ordinary law ," he insisted.
But the reform conceals significant electoral issues. The Socialists oppose it, and their candidate for mayor of Paris in 2026, MP Emmanuel Grégoire, had tabled numerous amendments, notably to remove various articles from the text.
" This is the first time in history that we are going to establish, for the same block of powers, two levels of political legitimacy with two different ballots ," he argued, adding: " It will be up to the Constitutional Council to say whether it thinks this is in accordance " with the Constitution.
Lyon Capitale
