Regional and departmental elections (ex-cantonal)

Verified 15 September 2026 - Public Service / (Prime Minister), Ministry of the Interior

Do you want to know how regional elections or departmental elections take place? We present you the information to know.

FYI  

The next regional and departmental elections are scheduled to take place in March 2028. The precise date of the election must be communicated to voters at least 6 weeks before election day.

Regional elections

The French voters registered on the electoral roll elect the regional councilors, within the framework of the region, during the regional elections.

Regional councilors are elected for a term of 6 years.

Councilors are elected to the direct universal suffrage by a proportional voting system, also called list ballot.

At 1er tower:

  • If a list gets the absolute majority of votes cast, it gets 1/4 seats to be filled.
  • The other seats shall be distributed by proportional representation among all lists having obtained at least 5% of the votes cast.

One 2d tour takes place the following week, yes, to 1er in turn, no list obtained an absolute majority of the votes cast. Only lists that have obtained at least 10% of the votes cast on 1er rounds can be candidates at 2d tower. They can optionally merge with lists that have obtained at least 5% of the votes cast on 1er tower.

At 2d tower:

  • The list that comes first gets 1/4 seats to be filled.
  • The remaining seats shall be distributed on a proportional basis among the lists which have obtained at least 5% of the votes cast on 2d tower.

FYI  

Some territorial authorities with special status are not not concerned by regional elections: Mayotte, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Saint Bartholomew, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna.

Departmental elections

The French voters registered on the electoral roll elect the departmental councilors, within the framework of cantons, during the departmental elections.

Departmental councilors are elected for a term of 6 years.

For each canton, a pair (woman-man) is elected to the 2-round majority vote.

A pair can be elected from the 1er tower, or at 2d ballot:

To be elected to 1er tower, the pair shall obtain:

  • The absolute majority of votes cast
  • And a number of votes equal to 1/4 of registered voters.

If no pair is elected on the 1ster tower, one 2d it's happening. Only pairs that have obtained a number of votes at least equal to 12.5% registered voters may participate in 2d tower.

On the 2d tower, the pair elected is the one that obtained the greatest number of votes.

Some local authorities concerned by the departmental elections are subject to specific features:

  • The Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin county councils have merged to form the European Community of Alsace. The councilors of Alsace are elected during the departmental elections.
  • Since the creation of the Métropole de Lyon, the Rhône department only concerns certain municipalities. Only the inhabitants of these communes elect the councilors of the Rhône. To find out if your municipality is part of the Rhône department or the Lyon Metropolis, you can use a simulator.

FYI  

Some territorial authorities with special status are not not concerned by the departmental elections: the City of Paris, French Guiana, Martinique, New Caledonia, French Polynesia, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna.

FAQ