The 2026 Nice municipal election was held on 15 March 2026, with a runoff on 22 March to elect the mayor Nice and the 69 members of the Municipal Council of Nice. Incumbent mayor Christian Estrosi, who had served as mayor since returning to office in 2017 and sought a fourth nonconsecutive term. The election was the first municipal election in which Estrosi faced his former deputy Éric Ciotti, who left The Republicans (LR) in 2024 to found the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR).
The main candidates were Christian Estrosi of Horizons (HOR), his former deputy Éric Ciotti of the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR), Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux of The Ecologists (LE), and several other candidates. Ciotti finished first in the first round with 43.43% of the vote, followed by Estrosi with 30.92% and Chesnel-Le Roux with 11.93%, with all three advancing to the runoff.
In the second round, Ciotti received 48.54% of the vote and his list won 52 of the 69 seats on the Municipal Council. Estrosi received 37.20% and won 13 seats, while Chesnel-Le Roux received 14.26% and won the remaining four seats.
Background Christian Estrosi was elected as mayor in 2008 and reelected in 2014 and in 2020, with an interruption between 2016 and 2017, when he was presiding over the Regional Council of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur. He was a member of The Republicans (LR), but quit the party in 2021 to join Horizons (HOR). He ran for a second term against his former deputy Éric Ciotti, who quit LR in 2024 after allying with the National Rally (RN). Ciotti was supported in his candidacy by his new party, the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR), but also by the RN. On 17 December, LR, the former party of both Estrosi and Ciotti, and traditionally a strong party in Nice, announced that they would support Estrosi.
Electoral system and context The 2026 election took place with a closed-list system. If no list gets 50% of votes in the first round, a second round takes place. Every list that gets at least 10% of the votes can access the second round. Every list getting above 5% of votes can merge with a list that accessed the second round. Half of the seats are attributed to the list coming first in the last round. The other half are attributed proportionately between the lists that get more than 5%.
Candidates Horizons Christian Estrosi, incumbent mayor and regional councillor of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur
Union of the Right for the Republic Éric Ciotti, Deputy and departmental councillor of Alpes-Maritimes
The Ecologists Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux, municipal councillor
Ecology at the Center Jean-Marc Governatori, municipal councillor
La France Insoumise Mireille Damiano
Campaign In November 2025, Éric Ciotti announced that he had recruited on his list Prefect Françoise Souliman. In January 2026, Jean-Pierre Rivière, who was supposed to be on Ciotti's list in order to become his deputy mayor withdrew after concerns were risen by Estrosi's team over his eligibility. He remained a support for Ciotti and wife later joined his list instead.
In February 2026, Gérard Holtz announced he was joining Estrosi's list, while Jean-Marc Governatori announced he was withdrawing his own candidacy in support of Ciotti's.
Polling First round Polling firm Fieldwork date Samplesize Jaquet Damiano Chesnel-Le Roux Estrosi Ciotti VellaOthers Elabe 18-25 Feb 2026 800 1% 11% 13% 30% 41% 4% — OpinionWay 16-21 Feb 2026 830 <1% 11% 12% 27% 45% 2% 3% Ifop 16-20 Feb 2026 608 — 11% 12% 32% 38% 4% 3% Cluster17 11-15 Feb 2026 763 0.5% 10% 12% 31% 41% 4% 1.5%
Second round Polling firm Fieldwork date Samplesize Damiano Chesnel-Le Roux Estrosi Ciotti Elabe18-25 Feb 2026800 — 22% 33% 45% 20% — 35% 45% — — 49% 51% OpinionWay16-21 Feb 2026830 10% 12% 30% 48% 17% — 32% 51% — — 45% 55% Ifop16-20 Feb 2026608 10% 14% 36% 40% — 20% 37% 43% — — 50% 50% Cluster17 11-15 Feb 2026 763 — — 49% 51%
Results
2026 Nice municipal election resultsCandidatePartyFirst roundSecond roundSeatsVotes%Votes%Nb.+/-Éric CiottiUDR-RN-ÉAC43.43%48.54% 45Christian EstrosiHOR-LR-RE-UDI-MoDem30.92%37.20% 43Juliette Chesnel-Le RouxLE-PS-PCF11.93%14.26% 2Mireille DamianoLFI8.95%—0Céline ForjonnelDIV2.24%0Cédric VellaREC1.86%0Estelle JacquetLO0.67%0Registered voters53.58%55.92%Abstention46.42%44.08%Total votes100%100%Blank or invalid votes1.951.90Valid votes98.0598.10
See also 2026 French municipal elections 2026 Lyon municipal election 2026 Marseille municipal election 2026 Nancy municipal election 2026 Paris municipal election 2026 Toulouse municipal election
References