As France prepares for municipal elections in 2026, a new analysis reveals a disproportionate number of candidates linked to antisemitic views. The findings arrive as scrutiny intensifies over extremism in French politics.
A tool called “Villes Futures,” developed by Bon Pote in anticipation of the 2026 elections, includes a filter to identify candidates flagged for problematic statements. Based on investigations by Les Jours, Streetpress, Mediapart, Médiacités, L’Humanité, Libération, Rue89 Bordeaux and Le Monde, researchers identified 31 candidates who have made or supported antisemitic remarks.
The majority – 61% – of those candidates are affiliated with the Rassemblement National (RN) party or are listed as “divers” (various) with ties to the RN (12.9%). Antisemitic speech is illegal in France. Among those identified are RN Member of Parliament Caroline Parmentier, a candidate in Béthune, who has spoken about a supposed “Jewish lobby” while also praising collaborators with Nazi Germany. Also flagged was Anne Jacqmin, an RN candidate in Versailles, who during the COVID-19 pandemic compared lockdowns in nursing homes to a “genocide” and referenced “a taste of the yellow star.”
The list also includes Romain Lopez, the current RN mayor of Moissac, who has published antisemitic content on X (formerly Twitter) and engaged with known antisemite Alain Soral. Hervé De Lépinau, an RN candidate in Carpentras, has compared abortion to the Armenian genocide, the Rwandan genocide, the Holocaust, and crimes committed by ISIS.
Updated March 8, 2026: Candidates from La France Insoumise (LFI) have also come under scrutiny. Dalil Diab, the lead candidate in Tourcoing, has been accused by the far-right media outlet Frontières of posting antisemitic tweets, including expressions of support for comedian Dieudonné (who has been convicted of antisemitism) and mocking a Hamas hostage. Diab has since issued an apology. Thomas Delplace, an LFI candidate in Saint-Pierre-des-Corps, also apologized for a tweet referencing an urgent care physician whose grandfather died in deportation during the Holocaust.
Despite the apologies from Diab and Delplace, both candidates were added to the list of flagged individuals. The analysis also noted reports regarding statements made by Sophia Chikirou in the book “La meute,” but determined the evidence was insufficient for inclusion on the list.
Candidates Withdrawn
Several candidates who made antisemitic statements have since been removed from their parties’ lists.
- Yves Bouteiller, the LFI candidate in Romilly-sur-Seine, was removed after referring to Jewish Member of Parliament Jérôme Guedj as a “dirty Zionist” and claiming that “the CRIF [Representative Council of Jewish Institutions of France] runs France” and that “the genocidal Zionists learned a lot from the Third Reich.”
- Vincent Belloteau, a candidate with LFI in Périgueux, removed a member of his list due to racist and antisemitic posts on Facebook, including references to the Holocaust, slavery, the Ku Klux Klan, and Nazism.
- The RN withdrew its support for Adrien Nave, the lead candidate in Dunkerque, due to the presence of a member of the Action Française, a group known for its antisemitism, on his list.
The list of candidates may not be exhaustive.
