The 2026 Lyon municipal election was held on 15 March 2026, with a runoff on 22 March, to elect the 73 members of the Municipal Council of Lyon, and the nine arrondissement councils. The municipal council subsequently elected the mayor of Lyon, while the arrondissement councils elected their respective mayors. This election followed the first term of Grégory Doucet, who had been in office since 2020 and sought reelection. The race was widely regarded as highly competitive, with Jean-Michel Aulas initially seen as the front-runner.

In the second round, Grégory Doucet was reelected mayor, securing a second term in office.

Background The 2020 municipal elections were marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to a sharp decline in voter turnout. Participation in the first round fell from 56% in 2014 to 39% in 2020. The election resulted in the victory of Ecologist Grégory Doucet.

After leading in the first round, The Ecologists merged with all other left-wing parties in the second round, facing the candidates of La République en marche and The Republicans. This coalition secured an absolute majority of the vote and won seven of the nine arrondissement councils.

Ahead of the subsequent election, divisions emerged within the governing majority. Anaïs Belouassa-Cherifi, a member of La France Insoumise who had initially been part of Doucet’s majority, announced her candidacy against the incumbent mayor.

On the right, Pierre Oliver was initially selected as the candidate of The Republicans. However, an agreement was later reached between Jean-Michel Aulas, Oliver, and Laurent Wauquiez, under which The Republicans endorsed Aulas as their mayoral candidate, while he incorporated LR members into his list. Aulas also secured the support of Renaissance and Horizons.

The National Rally chose to support Alexandre Dupalais, a member of the Union of the Right for the Republic.

Electoral system Under the 2025 PLM law, from 2026 onward, people cast two ballots, one for the Municipal Council of Lyon, and one for the arrondissement councils, each of which is presided over by a mayor.

The election was conducted using a two-round list system with a majority bonus. A list that obtains an absolute majority in the first round is elected outright. If no list achieves a majority, a second round is held on the following Sunday. Lists that receive at least 10% of the vote in the first round may participate in the second round, while lists receiving between 5% and 10% may merge with qualifying lists.

Arrondissement councils and the Municipal Council elect their mayors during the first plenary session. The mayor is chosen by majority vote in the first two rounds, or by plurality in the third round. In the event of a tie, the oldest candidate is elected.

Candidates The Ecologists Grégory Doucet, incumbent mayor Doucet was also supported by PS, PCF and PP.

Miscellaneous centre Jean-Michel Aulas, former president of Olympique Lyonnais Aulas was also supported by LR, RE, HOR, UDI and MoDem.

La France Insoumise Anaïs Belouassa-Cherifi, Deputy

Union of the Right for the Republic Alexandre Dupalais Dupalais was also supported by RN.

Campaign The campaign was marked by the killing of Quentin Deranque, a far-right activist, who died on 14 February 2026 after being assaulted during clashes with antifascist militants on the sidelines of a conference by MEP Rima Hassan (LFI) at the Institut d'études politiques de Lyon.

The incident prompted widespread reactions across the political spectrum, including from Emmanuel Macron. Several mayoral candidates, including Jean-Michel Aulas, Alexandre Dupalais (RN), and Anaïs Belouassa-Cherifi (LFI), announced a temporary suspension of their campaigns following the news of his death. Jean-Michel Aulas urged the incumbent mayor to display the deceased activist’s portrait on the façade of City Hall. The main candidates also took part in several televised debates ahead of the first round. However, only one debate was attended by Jean-Michel Aulas, who was either replaced or declined to participate in the others.

Between the first and second round, the LFI merged its list with Doucet's.

Polling

First round Polling firm Fieldwork date Samplesize Briday Mizony Belouassa-Cherifi Doucet Perrin-Gilbert Képénékian Aulas DupalaisOthers Cluster17 16-19 Feb 2026 793 0.5% 0.5% 9% 31% 3% 4% 42% 9% 1% Elabe 11-19 Feb 2026 800 1% 1% 10% 29% 3% 7% 43% 6% — OpinionWay 11-18 Feb 2026 943 <1% <1% 9% 32% 3% 4% 45% 7% — Ifop 3-16 Feb 2026 804 <0.5 0.5 11% 29% 2.5% 6% 45% 6% — OpinionWay 9-13 Feb 2026 605 1% <1% 9% 30% 2% 2% 47% 9% — Ipsos 13-27 Jan 2026 603 — — 8% 30% 4% 5% 44% 8% 1% 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 Samplesize Belouassa-Cherifi Doucet Aulas Dupalais Elabe11-19 Feb 2026800 11% 34% 55% — — 43% 57% — OpinionWay 11-18 Feb 2026 943 — 45% 55% — Ifop3-16 Feb 2026804 — 40% 52% 8% — 42% 58% — OpinionWay9-13 Feb 2026605 — 40% 52% 8% — 42% 58% — 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

CandidatePartyFirst roundSecond roundSeatsVotes%Votes%Nb.+/-Grégory DoucetLE-PS-PCF-PP-L'A-D!-G.s-GRS37.36%104,70250,67%46 −5Anaïs Belouassa-CherifiLFI10.41%Jean-Michel AulasDVC-LR-RE-HOR-UDI-MoDem-LC-PA36.78%101,94049,33%27 +5Alexandre DupalaisUDR-RN-RPR7.07%—0Nathalie Perrin-GilbertDVG-PRG-MRC-PP3.64%0Georges KépénékianDVC-EQX-EC-Volt3.53%0Delphine BridayLO0.53%0Raphaëlle MizonyNPA-R0.51%0Michaël JouteuxPT0.16%0Registered voters100,00321,188100,00Abstention109,00633,94Total votes212,18266,06Blank or invalid votes5,5402,61Valid votes206,642

Results by arrondissement Doucet won six arrondissements of nine, while Aulas led in the remaining three. Doucet performed the best in the 1st arrondisement in the centre of Lyon with 68.6% of the vote; it was also where the least total votes were cast. Conversely, Aulas secured his best result in the 6th arrondissement, with 65.9% of the vote. Arron.Grégory DoucetLÉ–EELVJean-Michel AulasDVCTotal#%#% 1st 9,322 68.6% 4,271 31.4% 13,593 2nd 6,031 41.2% 8,618 58.8% 14,649 3rd 21,554 52.4% 19 546 47.6% 41,100 4th 10,055 55.3% 8,125 44.7% 18,180 5th 7,563 38.1% 12,275 61.9% 19,838 6th 8,285 34.1% 16,010 65.9% 24,295 7th 20,383 62.3% 12,336 37.7% 32,719 8th 12,838 50.5% 12,589 49.5% 25,427 9th 8,671 51.5% 8,170 48.5% 16,841

Arrondissement mayors

ArrondissementOutgoing mayorPartyElected mayorPartyVotesLyonGrégory DoucetLEGrégory DoucetLE50.67%1stYasmine BouaggaLEYasmine BouaggaLE68.79%2ndPierre OliverLRPierre OliverLR59.80%3rdMarion SessiecqLEMarion SessiecqLE52.48%4thRémi ZinckLERémi ZinckLE55.19%5thNadine GeorgelLEThomas RudigozRE50.38%6thPascal Blache*HORSamuel SoulierDVD51.50%7thFanny DubotLEFanny DubotLE62.76%8thOlivier BerzaneLEOlivier BerzaneLE49.97%9thAnne Braibant*LEEmmanuel GiraudPS51.32%*not running for re-election

Notes

See also 2026 French municipal elections 2026 Marseille municipal election 2026 Metropolitan Council of Lyon election 2026 Nancy municipal election 2026 Nice municipal election 2026 Paris municipal election 2026 Toulouse municipal election

References