Marne · Monday, March 23, 2026
This press review was prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence using the cited sources. Before publication, its text was reviewed or modified by a person under DECiMAP’s editorial responsibility.
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The Marne, the Champagne department in France’s Grand Est region (northeastern France), chose its mayors on March 22, 2026, with fifteen towns holding a runoff. Arnaud Robinet (Horizons, center-right, incumbent mayor) is re-elected in Reims with 51.86% for a third term, with the National Rally second. In Châlons-en-Champagne, Benoist Apparu (Horizons) narrowly holds the prefecture against the National Rally. Christine Mazy (center-right) is returned in Épernay. In Vitry-le-François, Sébastien Mirgodin (center-right) clearly defeats Jean-Pierre Bouquet (left-leaning independent), mayor since 1995. Final results were published on Monday, March 23 by the French Interior Ministry.
Reims · Arnaud Robinet re-elected for a third term
In Reims (177,674 residents, 59 council seats), Arnaud Robinet (Horizons, incumbent mayor since 2014) wins the three-way race with 51.86% of valid votes (23,561 votes). His list takes 46 of the 59 seats, eight points up on his first-round score (43.79%).
The merged list led by Anne-Sophie Frigout (Rassemblement National, far-right, allied with the dissident right of Stéphane Lang) comes second with 25.92% (7 seats). Eric Quénard’s united left gets 22.22% (6 seats). France 3 Champagne-Ardenne notes the National Rally finishing “second ahead of the left”.
The combined first-round score of the lists of Anne-Sophie Frigout and Stéphane Lang (28.71%) was not matched in the runoff: the merger lost nearly three points. Turnout was 45.06%, slightly down from March 15 (45.57%).
Châlons-en-Champagne · Benoist Apparu keeps the prefecture by 375 votes
In Châlons-en-Champagne (42,971 residents, 43 seats), the four-way race billed as the tightest in Champagne lived up to expectations. Benoist Apparu (Horizons, incumbent mayor since 2014) is re-elected for a third term with 34.17% (4,270 votes), ahead of Achille Bisiaux (Rassemblement National, 31.17%, 3,895 votes). The margin is 375 votes.
Rudy Namur (united left) is third with 29.53% (6 seats), Gabriel Michel (center-right) fourth with 5.12% (1 seat). The majority bonus (the winning list automatically receives half the seats) gives Benoist Apparu 29 seats, against 7 for the National Rally.
The runoff clearly mobilized voters: turnout rose from 49.67% to 54.23%, over 1,000 extra voters. The top three lists all gained ground, a sign of bloc-against-bloc voting in the Marne’s prefecture.
Épernay · Christine Mazy returned
In Épernay (22,174 residents, 35 seats), the capital of Champagne, Christine Mazy (center-right, incumbent mayor) is re-elected with 45.03% (2,780 votes) and 26 seats. Eric Laurency (united right) gets 34.29% (6 seats), Antoine Humbert (left-leaning independent) 20.67% (3 seats).
The first-round balance of power held: Christine Mazy led with 40.79%, ahead of Eric Laurency (31.02%) and Antoine Humbert (19.01%). Turnout stayed low at 45.09%.
Vitry-le-François · Sébastien Mirgodin turns the page on Jean-Pierre Bouquet
In Vitry-le-François (10,996 residents, 33 seats), the runoff produced the department’s most striking change of power. Sébastien Mirgodin (center-right) wins with 57.89% (2,278 votes) and 27 seats, against Jean-Pierre Bouquet (left-leaning independent, incumbent mayor since 1995, 31.94%, 5 seats). Jean-Baptiste Simonnot (Rassemblement National) is third with 10.17% (1 seat).
In the first round, the two front-runners were neck and neck: 31.90% for Sébastien Mirgodin, 31.56% for Jean-Pierre Bouquet. The cross-party merger agreed on March 17 between the incumbent and Cyril Triolet (center-right, 16.20%), which we discussed on March 22, collapsed at the ballot box: the joint list, theoretically worth 47.76%, won only 31.94%. The figures suggest that a large share of Cyril Triolet’s voters preferred Sébastien Mirgodin. Turnout jumped from 50.51% to 55.64%.
Aged 33, Sébastien Mirgodin ends more than thirty years of Jean-Pierre Bouquet at the head of this sub-prefecture.
Tinqueux and Sézanne · a clear win and a swing
In Tinqueux (10,771 residents, 33 seats), on the edge of Reims, Jean-Pierre Fortuné (center-right) wins with 44.55% (24 seats), ahead of Gilles Borck (Rassemblement National, 34.97%, 6 seats) and Stéphane Pirouelle (left-leaning independent, 20.48%, 3 seats).
In Sézanne (4,576 residents, 27 seats), David Levert (independent) wins with 52.56% against Sacha Hewak (centrist, 47.44%). RCF lists Sézanne, along with Vitry-le-François, among the evening’s “swings”.
Election calendar
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| March 15, 2026 | First round |
| March 22, 2026 | Runoff · fifteen Marne towns |
| March 23, 2026 | Final results published by the Interior Ministry |
| Late March 2026 | First sessions of the new councils, election of mayors |
| April 2026 | Inter-municipal councils take office (Grand Reims, Châlons Agglo) |
Social media and communication
Election night in the Marne was followed live on ICI Champagne-Ardenne and France 3, which gathered reactions from candidates in Reims and Châlons.
No notable controversy on Marne social media. Online attention focused on Châlons-en-Champagne, where the tight race between Benoist Apparu and Achille Bisiaux kept the outcome uncertain for longer than in Reims, where Arnaud Robinet’s win was hardly in doubt.
Trends and analysis
The Marne returns its two Horizons mayors. Arnaud Robinet in Reims and Benoist Apparu in Châlons-en-Champagne each begin a third term, confirming the hold of Édouard Philippe’s party on the department’s two main cities.
The National Rally establishes itself as the second municipal force in the Marne. Second in Reims, second in Châlons-en-Champagne just 375 votes short of victory, second in Tinqueux: the party gains ground in Reims, Châlons-en-Champagne and Tinqueux, falls back in Vitry-le-François and wins no major town. In Reims, the merger with the dissident right did not work.
The left finishes third in both main cities and loses Vitry-le-François, which it had run since 1995. The change of power in Vitry, led by a 33-year-old candidate, is the main political event of the night in the Marne.
Edition no. 20 · Marne (51) · March 23, 2026 · Score: 15 pts · D+1
This article is an English adaptation of the French press review. Municipal elections in France use a two-round system on March 15 and 22, 2026.