Politics · France · 7 hrs ago
Saint-Fons municipal election annulled over errors on rival list
A court has annulled the municipal election in Saint-Fons, a town south of Lyon in France.
The election was won by a list led by Hadi Mebarki of La France insoumise, a left-wing party.
The court said a rival list led by outgoing mayor Christian Duchêne failed to state that one candidate was Portuguese, as required by election law.
It said 192 votes for Duchêne’s list were wrongly counted, leaving those voters’ choices without effect.
Duchêne’s list was not in the second round, where Mebarki’s list won nearly 41% of the vote.
Residents will have to vote again.
This is the third similar election annulment involving La France insoumise in the Rhône department, after cases in Vaulx-en-Velin and Vénissieux.
A French administrative court annulled the municipal election in Saint-Fons because of an error on a rival candidate list.
The incumbent mayor Christian Duchêne’s list failed to declare that one candidate had Portuguese nationality, as required by election law.
The court said 192 votes for Duchêne’s list had been counted incorrectly, and that voters’ choices had been deprived of useful effect.
La France insoumise candidate Hadi Mebarki’s list won the second round with nearly 41% of the vote.
Residents of Saint-Fons will have to vote again.
- Who
- The administrative court in Lyon annulled the election. The affected lists were led by incumbent mayor Christian Duchêne and La France insoumise candidate Hadi Mebarki.
- What
- The municipal election in Saint-Fons was annulled over an undeclared Portuguese nationality on Duchêne’s list.
- When
- The court annulled the election on 12 October 2026.
- Where
- Saint-Fons, south of Lyon, in the Rhône department of France.
- Why
- Duchêne’s list did not declare a candidate’s Portuguese nationality, contrary to election law. The court said 192 votes were wrongly counted.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
l'expression du suffrage des électeurs de Saint-Fons qui ont voté pour la liste conduite par M. Duchêne s'est trouvée, en l'absence de toute manoeuvre, privée de portée utile
Duchêne’s list received 901 votes, nearly 28% of the first-round vote.
Mebarki’s La France insoumise list won with nearly 41% of the vote, while Duchêne’s list was absent.
The administrative court annulled the municipal election.
- Location
- Saint-Fons, south of Lyon
- Court
- Administrative court in Lyon
- Duchêne list
- 901 first-round votes, nearly 28%
- Incorrectly counted votes
- 192
- Mebarki list
- Nearly 41% in the second round
Sources
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