The reform of the ballot in Paris, Lyon, Marseille adopted nine months from the municipal elections, to the delight of Rachida Dati

Parliament definitively adopted the sulphurous law called “PLM” this Thursday, July 10. The text strongly reforming the voting system in the municipalities of Paris, Lyon and Marseille was validated by 117 votes (34 against) in the National Assembly.

Voters will now vote for only one list, but two. One for the central municipal council, the other for the borough council. Since 1982, they have been pronounced in favor of a list of their arrondissement, in which some central municipal councilors were appointed.

In the Senate, the Chamber which represents the territories, the text had been rejected on Wednesday. This is the first time since François Bayrou has been in Matignon that a text has been adopted without the consent of the upper room.

The Senate opposed to the reform

Both the Senators The Republicans and Socialist refused a change in the voting system: “Until a year from the municipal elections, this coup must be buried. Definitely “, said communist senator Ian Brossat on June 4 in the hemicycle. Wednesday, he added: “Social inequalities have recorded an ever reached record since the 1970s. What debates Parliament? Tripouillating of the Parisian voting system ».

Valérie Boyer, LR senator, used similar terms, criticizing a “Electoral tampering”. The promoters of the bill argue, like the rapporteur of the text to the Assembly, the deputy Modem Jean-Paul Mattei, that the system in force is ” complex “ et “Little readable” For citizens.

The bill had been tabled in October 2024 at the assembly office, shortly after the entrance to the Républicains File Chef in Paris Rachida Dati in January. She thinks he can be elected on her name. “You are in the process of establishing an election mode made for a candidate minister, indicted for corruption and influence traffic. I hope it will turn against you ”, Attacked the PS senator from Paris (and former socialist primary candidate) on Wednesday.

A personalized campaign

The vote across all Paris, Lyon, or Marseille contributes to personifying the municipal campaign on the sole name of the future central mayor, to the detriment of the balance between mayor of the district and mayor of the town. In addition, this allows forces that are not very established to make a better score than if the ballot took place in the boroughs: this is the case of the national rally, of Renaissance and the rebellious France.

In the National Assembly, the text had the assent of the RN, the overall macronists for the Republic, the LFI, the Republican right and the Modem, as well as a part, minority, of the socialists.

In the Senate, both the left and the Republicans promise to seize the Constitutional Council. The organization of two separate elections creates an additional charge to the state budget, which is prohibited within the framework of a bill. In addition, in Lyon, the reform does not lead to two separate votes but three, one for the districts, the other for the town hall, and the third for the metropolis. A complexity that the wise men of rue Montpensier could refuse.