Large cities do not make France, far from it. The outcome of the first round of the presidential election confirms this. Observing the results of the main French cities reveals huge differences with the national score. For example, Jean-Luc Mélenchon comes first in seven of the 15 largest cities in France, while Marine Le Pen is only part of the leading duo in Nice and Toulon.
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In detail, analyzing the results of the first round at the level of the polling stations reveals the strong divisions that cross these cities. Fragmented maps are emerging between wealthy or working-class neighborhoods, highlighting significant gaps between candidates.
Paris is cut in two
The capital is undoubtedly where the divide is the clearest. Emmanuel Macron came first in 13 of the 20 arrondissements, in the center and west of Paris, while Jean-Luc Mélenchon is first in the other 8, in the south-east and north-east of the city, more popular .
Jean-Luc Mélenchon exceeds 60% in 11 polling stations, all located in the north-east of Paris. Moreover, a little further east, the rebellious candidate comes first in the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, with a record score of 49.09%.
In Paris, the outgoing president never exceeds 54% of the vote, a level all the same reached in 42 polling stations, almost all in the 16th and 17th arrondissements, in the west of the capital.
Behind this leading pair hide very disparate results for the other candidates. Eric Zemmour, who came third on the scale of the city, thus exceeds 25% in certain polling stations in western Paris. It rises to 17.48% in the 16th arrondissement. At the level of Paris as a whole, it is Emmanuel Macron who comes first (35.33%), ahead of Jean-Luc Mélenchon (30.09%). The president of Ile-de-France and LR candidate, Valérie Pécresse, collected 6.59% of the vote, while the mayor of Paris and socialist candidate, Anne Hidalgo, obtained 2.17% of the vote.
Lyon is more fragmented
The capital of Gaul shows less clear divisions, but here again, the outgoing president and the rebellious candidate share the map. Jean-Luc Mélenchon comes first in five arrondissements, while Emmanuel Macron is first in the other four.
The Popular Union candidate recorded his best score in a polling station in the far south-east of Lyon, with 67% of the vote. It exceeds half of the votes in a dozen polling stations. He thus performs in the 7th and 8th arrondissements, in the south-east, and in the first and fourth arrondissements, at Croix-Rousse. It is also he who tops the ballot in Villeurbanne, a town adjoining Lyon, to the northeast.
Emmanuel Macron, he never exceeds 50%, but achieves his best scores (47%) near the Parc de la Tête d’Or, in the wealthy 6th arrondissement. He also won the votes in the hyper-center, in the 2nd arrondissement in particular.
Ultimately, citywide, the two candidates are neck and neck, at over 31 percent. Marine Le Pen comes in third place, but far behind, with 8.99%. The voters of Lyon, who elected an environmental mayor in 2020, granted only 7.67% of the votes to Yannick Jadot.
Marseille is divided into three
Of the three largest cities in France, Marseille presents a more contrasting profile. Unlike Paris and Lyon, Marine Le Pen tops some polling stations, as can be seen from data published by the city of Marseille and aggregated by the local news site Marsactu.
Jean-Luc Mélenchon, MP for Bouches-du-Rhône, comes first in ten of the sixteen districts of Marseille, all located in the northern half of the city. Here again, it achieves its best scores in working-class neighborhoods: it reaches 82% in a polling station in the 14th arrondissement and exceeds 60% in around forty electoral zones.
The outgoing president is in the lead in four boroughs, further south of the city. He won 31.86% of the vote in the 8th, one of the wealthiest in Marseille. It is in this arrondissement, as well as in the 7th, that we find the polling stations where he was most successful, between 40 and 43% of the vote. Finally, Marine Le Pen is first in two arrondissements, the 10th and 11th, with respectively 28.20% and 29.96% of the vote.
Thus, on the final podium of the city, the scores of the three candidates are rather atypical: Jean-Luc Mélenchon obtains 31.12% of the votes, ahead of Emmanuel Macron with 22.62%, closely followed by Marine Le Pen, with 20.89 %. A trifecta that deserves to be followed for the legislative elections.
