Putting an end to the “PLM” law, like “Paris-Lyon-Marseille”, would allow the inhabitants of these three cities to vote directly for their mayors in the 2026 municipal elections. The Renaissance deputies have been working on this project for a long time and intend to present a text by December 2023.
The Renaissance group in the Assembly wants to table a bill by December to put an end to the “PLM” voting method, Paris-Lyon-Marseille. It’s a slightly different election, since voters vote in their borough to elect councilors who will sit on the city council. And it is the latter who will then elect the mayor. What will happen in the next municipal elections in 2026?
Put an end to “the electors”
Since 1982, the inhabitants of these three large cities have therefore voted for their district or sector mayor, not directly for the headliner destined for central town hall. The Macronists dream of changing the system. They provide two ballot boxes: one to elect the district mayor, and one for the city mayor.
This isn’t the first time they’ve talked about it: “It’s a sea serpent from the first quinquennium”, admits a minister. In 2020, after the failure of Agnès Buzyn in Paris, the majority already wanted to change the voting method. But Emmanuel Macron was also thinking about reforming Greater Paris, Covid happened there… and nothing changed. Last fall, the Renaissance group again promised to move forward… in vain. But this time, “it’s the right one”hope the Macronists. “We wanted to include Lyon and Marseille, and not just Paris, that’s why it takes more time,” explains a Parisian MP.
Support from the right and resistance from the left
As in the National Assembly, the Macronists no longer have an absolute majority since 2022, they think they will succeed thanks to the LR group. Rachida Dati, who is aiming for Paris in 2026, is campaigning to change the rule, and prides herself on having spoken about it directly to Emmanuel Macron. “This is our only chance to beat the left,” admits an LR leader. A minister prefers to stay “careful” regarding the support of the right for this reform. The retirement episode has left its mark.
>> Municipal elections in Paris: from Emmanuel Grégoire to LFI, the entire left hopes that Anne Hidalgo will leave her place
One thing is certain, the Macronists will not be able to count on the left in this matter. Coincidence – or not – Paris, Lyon and Marseille are on the left with Anne Hidalgo, Grégory Doucet and Benoît Payan. A Parisian elected official castigates “The Sorcerers’ Apprentices” from the right and the center who want to change the rules because “They don’t know how to win cities.”