France: Michèle Rubirola, first woman elected mayor of Marseille, tilts the city to the left

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Candidate of the union of the left in Marseille, the second city of France, Michèle Rubirola became this Saturday April 4 the first woman mayor of Marseille. It tipped the city to the left after 25 years of Jean-Claude Gaudin's mandate. 

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At the end of a historic and tense session , Michèle Rubirola won the town hall of Marseille this Saturday, July 4. A doctor and elected environmentalist, she became the first woman mayor of Marseille and thus succeeds Jean-Claude Gaudin, the former right-wing mayor who did not stand again after 25 years in office.

The head of the list of the union group of the left and the environmentalists of the Marseille Spring obtained an absolute majority with 51 votes out of 92 councilors. She won the victory and therefore tipped the city of Marseille to the left, thanks to the last minute support of ex-PS senator Samia Ghali, who came in third place in the second round of the municipal elections.

A week of political negotiations and negotiations

She was long applauded by her supporters who gathered in front of the municipal council hall where the vote was held. She finally won the seat of mayor before candidate Les Républicains, Guy Teissier, her only opponent still in the race after the withdrawal of Samia Ghali. 

In the second round, marked by a record abstention across the country, Sunday, June 28, the lists of Marseille Spring came first with 38.3% of the vote, ahead of the right list led by Martine Vassal (30.8% ), which ultimately withdrew in favor of Guy Teissier.

► To read: After 24 years at the head of Marseille, Jean-Claude Gaudin bows out

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