Member of Parliament Sebastien Delogu, of the French far-left opposition party La France Insoumise (France Unbowed – LFI) and the alliance of left-wing parties, called the “Nouveau Front Populaire” (New Popular Front – NFP), visits the hemicycle with newly-elected LFI lawmakers at the National Assembly in Paris after the second.
PARIS, March 17 (Reuters) – The hard-left candidate in Marseille’s mayoral race, Sebastien Delogu, has withdrawn from the second round of voting in a bid to block the far-right National Rally (RN) party from taking control of France’s second-largest city.
Delogu, representing the France Unbowed (LFI) party, garnered nearly 12% of the vote in the first round last week, trailing Socialist incumbent Benoit Payan and RN’s Franck Allisio, who received 36% and 35% respectively. Delogu’s withdrawal makes it a three-way race between the two frontrunners and conservative Martine Vassal in the second round vote set for Sunday.
“We are withdrawing our list so as not to endorse a strategy that poses a grave risk to our city,” Delogu said in a statement, while faulting Payan for refusing a formal alliance to unify their positions against the far-right.
The RN, a party known for its anti-immigration and eurosceptic stance, is France’s largest parliamentary bloc and could potentially secure the presidency in next year’s election, according to recent polls. Despite the RN’s historical difficulties in gaining support in urban areas, Marseille’s security situation, with drug- and gang-related violence, has given the party hope of scoring a once-unthinkable victory there.
Delogu’s withdrawal came hours before a Tuesday afternoon deadline for parties to finalise their lists ahead of the second round, a cutoff that has intensified horse‑trading among candidates in votes across France as they seek to block the RN.
Local party negotiations have highlighted divisions on the left, with the Socialists, Greens and LFI reaching agreements in some cities, such as Lyon and Toulouse, but not in others like Marseille, Paris and Lille.
In Paris, LFI candidate Sophia Chikirou urged the Socialists to merge lists, saying the left had “a few hours” to act responsibly and prevent the right from taking city hall.
Reporting by Gianluca Lo Nostro; Editing by Hugh Lawson
