France's National Rally (RN), led by Marine Le Pen, claimed historic gains in Sunday's second round of municipal elections but fell short in several high-profile races.

The right-wing party won control of dozens of medium-sized towns, including Carcassonne, La Seyne-sur-Mer, Orange, Carpentras, Agde, Liévin, and Montargis. An RN ally, Eric Ciotti of the Union des droites pour la République, defeated incumbent Christian Estrosi in Nice. Incumbent RN mayor Louis Aliot held Perpignan in the first round.

However, RN candidates suffered defeats in major targets. In Marseille, Franck Allisio received 41.5 percent against incumbent Benoît Payan's 56.2 percent. Toulon's Laure Lavalette got 46.5 percent to Josée Massi's 53.5 percent. In Nîmes, Julien Sanchez earned 37.5 percent against Vincent Bouget's 41 percent.

Left-wing candidates triumphed elsewhere. Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire led in Paris, while Green incumbent Grégory Doucet won reelection in Lyon. The elections, held March 15 for the first round and today for runoffs, tested parties ahead of the 2027 presidential vote.

RN performed strongly in the first round, topping polls in 60 cities and advancing to runoffs in southern strongholds like Marseille, where Allisio tied the incumbent at around 35 percent, a gain of over 15 points from 2020, and Toulon at 42 percent. Analysts noted RN's perennial second-round challenge as rivals formed anti-far-right pacts.

Le Pen hailed an "immense victory," citing dozens of new mayors and thousands of councilors. Party president Jordan Bardella called it the "greatest breakthrough in RN's history." The party views these results as progress in local implementation, potentially aiding future Senate elections.

Turnout remained low, possibly the lowest in the Fifth Republic, amid voter fatigue. RN's medium-sized city gains build on 2020 successes but highlights limits in larger metropolises with over 100,000 residents.