2008 French municipal elections

none December 2019 The French municipal elections of 2008 were held on 9 and 16 March to elect the municipal councils of France's 36,782 communes. The first task of each newly constituted municipal council was to elect a mayor. Municipal councilors, and the mayors they elect, ordinarily serve a term of six years. However, those who took office following the last municipal elections, held on 11 and 18 March 2001, had their terms extended to seven years by an Act of the French parliament,Act number 2005-1563 of the 15 December 2005 (in French) designed to avoid an overloading of the electoral calendar in 2007.Four other rounds of voting were already due to be held in that year: two rounds of the presidential election in April/May and two rounds of the legislative elections scheduled for June 2007 Results The left gained back grounds lost in 2001 and in previous elections, and sent a message of warning to President Nicolas Sarkozy, in power since 2007. The PS gained cities like Toulouse, Strasbourg, Amiens, Saint-Étienne and Reims. The left also held on easily to most of its cities, including Paris and Lyon. The close election in Marseille, however, was won by the UMP incumbent. The right did poorly but held on to some of its cities like Bordeaux, Le Havre, Nice, Toulon or Aix-en-Provence. Among right-wing gains were the cities of Chaumont, Le-Puy-en-Velay, and Calais (ending 37 years of Communist control). François Bayrou's centrist MoDem did poorly, although MoDem incumbents generally won. However, Bayrou himself was defeated (by the PS) in his hometown of Pau. Between the two rounds the MoDem followed three strategies: maintain its list in the runoffs, if qualified; ally with the right (as in Toulouse); or ally with the left (as in Marseille). The far-right FN did extremely poorly, winning only 0.93% nationwide and qualifying for the runoff in only 7 cities with 30,000+ population (40 in 2001, 105 in 1995). The Greens regained grounds lost in 2007, the most notable Green gain was by Dominique Voynet in Montreuil. However, the Green vote was halved in Paris over 2001. The PCF held most of its ground in its Seine-Saint-Denis strongholds (despite most incumbents facing Socialist candidates) but also in other PCF cities (Nanterre, Arles). It gained Dieppe and Vierzon while losing Calais (to UMP) and Aubervilliers (to PS). Important races Paris 2008 Paris municipal election The popular Socialist incumbent Bertrand Delanoë was very easily re-elected. Françoise de Panafieu represented the centre-right UMP as the right tried, in vain, to regain the capital. Among high-profile candidates on her lists is the Justice Minister Rachida Dati, UMP elected in the 7th arrondissement of Paris.https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/13/world/europe/13france.html?em&ex=1200373200&en=8d83de11471e08db&ei=5087%0A The New York Times French Cabinet Position Not Enough? Then Try Mayor Elaine Sciolino 13 January 2008 2 May 2010 Bordeaux In Bordeaux, the incumbent mayor and former prime minister Alain Juppé, defeated in the 2007 parliamentary election, stood for re-election. The Socialist candidate was Aquitaine President Alain Rousset. The centrist MoDem, led by François Bayrou, announced its support for Juppé. Juppé was re-elected by the first round with over 56% of votes cast, even improving over 2001. Municipal election 2008: Bordeaux Union for a Popular Movement Alain Juppé* 46,087 56.62 Socialist Party (France) Alain Rousset 27,790 34.14 Revolutionary Communist League (France) Emmanuel Bichindaritz 2,484 3.05 National Front (France) Jacques Colombier 2,111 2.59 Miscellaneous Marc Vanhove 1,201 1.48 New Centre Adrien Bonnet 1,144 1.41 +1.41 Workers' Struggle Denis Lacoste 502 0.62 Miscellaneous left Mohamed Akrout 77 0.09 82,354 61.70 Union for a Popular Movement Lyon 2008 Lyon municipal election In 2001, the Socialist Gérard Collomb won the country's second largest city from the UDF. Lyon had been considered a stronghold for the centrist UDF in previous years. In 2008, former UMP Transportation Minister Dominique Perben tried to win back the city. Surprisingly, the two highly presumed candidates for the centrist MoDem and the far-right National Front, Azouz Begag and Bruno Gollnisch respectively both announced their intentions not to stand. In February, after a fight with MoDem leader François Bayrou, the MoDem list leader integrated the UMP list, but Bayrou found another list leader. The MoDem list was also shaken after one of its list was rejected because one of its candidates was also on a FN list. With his sky-high popularity, Collomb was re-elected by the first round and Perben himself was defeated in his sector. Marseille 2008 Marseille municipal election In the country's third largest city, Jean-Claude Gaudin of the UMP faced Socialist Senator Jean-Noël Guérini, FN candidate Stéphane Ravier, and MoDem MEP Jean-Luc Bennahmias. The race was very close and both sides had a chance to win, but Gaudin was re-elected narrowly. Nice The right was divided in this generally right-wing city, with incumbent Mayor Jacques Peyrat staging a dissident candidacy against UMP candidate Christian Estrosi. Estrosi won 38% to Peyrat's 23%. However, the PS candidate Patrick Allemand, with his 22%, also qualified for a three-way runoff. Municipal election 2008: Nice Union for a Popular Movement Christian Estrosi 46,576 38.27 Union for a Popular Movement Jacques Peyrat 28,161 23.14 Socialist Party (France) Patrick Allemand 27,141 22.30 Radical Party of the Left Patrick Mottard 7,887 6.48 National Front (France) Lydia Schenardi 5,068 4.16 Democratic Movement (France) Hervé Caël 3,781 3.11 Far right Philippe Vardon 3,686 3.03 Revolutionary Communist League (France) Bruno Della Sudda 2,413 1.98 124,767 58.16 Union for a Popular Movement Christian Estrosi 51,792 41.33 Socialist Party (France) Patrick Allemand 41,561 33.17 Union for a Popular Movement Jacques Peyrat* 31,952 25.50 125,305 60 Union for a Popular Movement Union for a Popular Movement Rennes In this Socialist city, longtime Mayor Edmond Hervé (since 1977) did not lead the PS list in this election, he was replaced by Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande mayor Daniel Delaveau, who was easily elected. The MoDem candidate, with her 10%, also won a place in the runoff. Municipal election 2008: Rennes Socialist Party (France) Daniel Delaveau 30,735 46.98 Union for a Popular Movement Karim Boudjema 17,084 26.11 Democratic Movement (France) Caroline Ollivro 6,692 10.23 The Greens (France) Nicole Kiil-Nielsen 5,841 8.93 Far left Valerie Faucheux 3,263 4.99 Workers' Struggle Raymond Madec 1,151 1.76 Workers' Party (France) Carine Weber 661 1.01 67,134 56.93 +3.97 Socialist Party (France) Daniel Delaveau 37,169 60.40 Union for a Popular Movement Karim Boudjema 16,885 27.44 Democratic Movement (France) Caroline Ollivro 7,480 12.16 61,534 53. Socialist Party (France) Toulouse Jean-Luc Moudenc of the UMP faced a very tough race against the left, which swept the city in the Presidential and Legislative elections held in 2007. Contrary to polls, Moudenc came out on top of the first round with 42% to the PS's 39%. Following the first round, he merged his lists with the MoDem. However, he lost to Pierre Cohen, the PS candidate. Municipal election 2008: Toulouse Union for a Popular Movement Jean-Luc Moudenc* 57,303 42.60 Socialist Party (France) Pierre Cohen 52,455 39.00 Democratic Movement (France) Jean-Luc Forget 7,936 5.90 Miscellaneous Left François Simon 7,293 5.42 Revolutionary Communist League (France) Myriam Martin 6,817 5.07 Democratic Movement (France) André Gallego 1,155 0.86 Workers' Struggle Sandra Torremocha 1,112 0.83 Far left Thierry Dupin 446 0.33 137,283 46.50 Socialist Party (France) Pierre Cohen 73,414 50.42 Union for a Popular Movement Jean-Luc Moudenc* 72,205 49.58 145,619 61 Socialist Party (France) Union for a Popular Movement Lille Socialist incumbent Martine Aubry ran for re-election, with 6 candidates opposing her. The Greens, although they qualified for the runoff, preferred to merge with Aubry's PS lists, as did the MoDem, which chose to merge with the Left list in Lille, and for the Right one in other cities. Municipal election 2008: Lille Socialist Party (France) Martine Aubry* 27,202 46.02 Union for a Popular Movement Sébastien Huyghe 12,791 21.64 The Greens (France) Eric Quiquet 6,848 11.58 Democratic Movement (France) Jacques Richir 4,603 7.79 National Front (France) Éric Dillies 3,317 5.61 Revolutionary Communist League (France) Jan Pauwels 2,337 3.95 Workers' Struggle Nicole Baudrin 1,373 2.32 Miscellaneous Left Etienne Forest 642 1.09 60,599 48.83 Socialist Party (France) Martine Aubry* 35,226 66.56 Union for a Popular Movement Sébastien Huyghe 17,700 33.44 52,926 44 Socialist Party (France) Strasbourg The capital of Alsace, Strasbourg was gained by the right from the left in 2001. However, in 2008, the UMP incumbent Fabienne Keller could be potentially defeated by the PS's Roland Ries. A poll showed her defeated 53–47 in the runoff.http://www.ifop.com/europe/sondages/opinionf/municipales_strasbourg.asp Le climat politique à Strasbourg 15 February 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20081014035101/http://www.ifop.com/europe/sondages/opinionf/municipales_strasbourg.asp 14 October 2008 dead Municipal election 2008: Strasbourg Socialist Party (France) Roland Ries 32,753 43.90 Union for a Popular Movement Fabienne Keller* 25,314 33.93 The Greens (France) Alain Jund 4,752 6.37 Democratic Movement (France) Chantal Cutajar 4,280 5.74 National Front (France) Christian Cotelle 2,121 2.84 Alsace d'Abord Robert Spieler 1,616 2.17 Revolutionary Communist League (France) Marcel Wolff 1,394 1.87 Miscellaneous Mohammed Latreche 1,047 1.40 Miscellaneous Left Jamal Boussif 540 0.72 Workers' Struggle Roland Robert 504 0.68 Far left Pascal Fischer 290 0.39 75,893 54.68 Socialist Party (France) Roland Ries 44,935 58.33 Union for a Popular Movement Fabienne Keller* 32,097 41.66 Socialist Party (France) Union for a Popular Movement Ethnic pluralism For the first time ever, the three main parties (center-right UMP, centrist MoDem, and center-left PS) put on top of a 50-odd lists candidates with a non-European ethnic background ("candidats de la diversité"), most either from North Africa, a few from the French Caribbean departments or sub-Saharan Africa, most against incumbent mayors from the opposite party, thus with lower chances to succeed.Élections municipales françaises de 2008 – DiversitéCandidats d'origine non-européenne aux élections municipales et cantonales de mars 2008 en métropole right|thumb|Candidates' posters for the French municipal elections in 2008 There were only seven incumbent mayors in Metropolitan France with non-European roots, all in rural communes with less than 5,000 inhabitants where the percentage of foreign stock population is close to nil: Auguste Senghor (nephew of Léopold Sedar Senghor), mayor of Le May-sur-Èvre (Maine-et-Loire, 3,891 inhabitants) in 1977–1989 and 1995–2008,http://tempsreel.nouvelobs.com/speciales/politique/municipales_2008/20080105.OBS3584/auguste_senghor_se_presente_a_saintbriacsurmer.html Auguste Senghor se présente à Saint-Briac-sur-Mer Le Nouvel Observateur France 15 January 2008 1 March 2008 was elected mayor of Saint-Briac (Ille-et-Vilaine, 2,054 inhabitants) where incumbent Mayor Brice Lalonde was no longer a candidateSaint-Briac. De Lalonde à Senghor https://web.archive.org/web/20080320144917/http://elections.letelegramme.com/municipales-2008/regionales/bretagne/saint-briac-20080318-2725619_1261049.php 20 March 2008 , Le Télégramme, 18 March 2008 Xavier Cadoret, born in Morocco as Karim Kadouri, PS mayor of Saint-Gérand-le-Puy (Allier, 1,029 inhabitants) since the death of the previous mayor in 1991, reelected in 1995 and 2001http://suffrage-universel.be/fr/cadoret.htm fr Ils voient en moi un maire, pas un étranger Ghislaine Buffard Aujourd'hui en France 26 February 1997 7 January 2008 Éric Besson, born in Morocco from a Lebanese mother, since 1995 mayor (formerly PS) of Donzère (Drôme, 4,700 inhabitants) Mahfoud Aomar (Algerian parents), nonpartisan mayor of Guerchy (Yonne, 601 inhabitants) since 2001 Kaddour Derrar, divers gauche mayor of Condette (Pas-de-Calais, 2,675 inhabitants) since 2001, when the former mayor endorsed him as his successor Pierre Pluton (Afro-Caribbean), UMP mayor of Évry-Grégy-sur-Yerre (Seine-et-Marne, 2,060 inhabitants) since 2001 Jean-Claude Gautry (Afro-Caribbean), mayor of Paroy (Seine-et-Marne, 198 inhabitants) since 2001 The six who were again candidates in their commune were reelected in the first round with results varying from 60% to 88% of the votes, and Auguste Senghor, candidate in another commune far away from the previous one, was the only candidate elected there in the first round with 52% of the votes. Two more small municipal councils elected mayors with non-European roots: Volvic (Puy-de-Dôme, 4,202 inhabitants) elected the Harki activist Mohand Hamoumou (miscellaneous right) and Morey (Saône-et-Loire, 184 inhabitants), Kader Atteye, whose parents came from Djibouti, but 5 councillors out of 11 resigned in protest over the election of a black mayorAlain Bollery, La tristesse d'un maire noir, Le Parisien, 31 March 2008Alexis De La Fontaine, La fronde des conseillers municipaux contre un maire noir https://web.archive.org/web/20080401142538/http://www.rtl.fr/fiche/79123/la-fronde-des-conseillers-municipaux-contre-un-maire-noir.html 1 April 2008 , RTL, 31 March 2008 Only one candidat de la diversité heading a list in a town of more than 10,000 inhabitants was elected in the first round: Eddie Aït, already a regional councillor and departmental leader for the Left Radical Party (centre-left) beat the incumbent UMP mayor of Carrières-sous-Poissy (Yvelines, 13,472 inhabitants) with 62.4% of the votes and was elected as mayor. Another was elected mayor after the second round, Philippe N'Guyen Tahnn (PS) in Vernon (Eure, 23,700 inhabitants) The left-wing list headed by Samia Ghali (PS vice-president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regional council) won in the first round in the VIIIth secteur (borough) of Marseille (92,100 inhabitants) with 52.30%. Had the left won in Marseille, she had been promised the first adjunct-mayorship, finally she was elected mayor of this secteur, succeeding the incumbent Communist mayor. The UMP list headed by Justice minister Rachida Dati got 49.50% in the first round in the 7th arrondissement of Paris (55,700 inhabitants). She was elected maire d'arrondissement after the second round. Results CityPopulation (1999) Incumbent Elected 2008Paris2 125 246 Bertrand DelanoëMarseille798 430 Jean-Claude GaudinLyon445 452 Gérard CollombToulouse390 350 Jean-Luc Moudenc Pierre CohenNice342 738 Jacques Peyrat Christian EstrosiNantes270 251 Jean-Marc AyraultStrasbourg264 115 Fabienne Keller Roland RiesMontpellier225 392 Hélène Mandroux-ColasBordeaux215 363 Alain JuppéLille212 597 Martine AubryRennes206 229 Edmond Hervé Daniel DelaveauLe Havre190 905 Antoine RufenachtReims187 206 Jean-Louis Schneiter Adeline HazanSaint-Étienne180 210 Michel Thiollière Maurice VincentToulon160 639 Hubert FalcoGrenoble153 317 Michel DestotAngers151 279 Jean-Claude AntoniniBrest149 634 François CuillandreLe Mans146 105 Jean-Claude BoulardClermont-Ferrand137 140 Serge GodardAmiens135 510 Gilles de Robien Gilles DemaillyAix-en-Provence134 222 Maryse Joissains-MasiniLimoges137 140 Alain RodetNîmes133 424 Jean-Paul FournierTours132 820 Jean Germain See also 2008 Lyon municipal election 2008 Marseille municipal election 2008 Paris municipal election Notes and references External links New York Times article, 13 January 2008 CityMayors.com elections page French municipal elections explained municipal 2008 Category:March 2008 in France