The Marseille municipal soap opera continues: leftist candidate Michèle Rubirola topped the first round of municipal council voting on Saturday, but no absolute majority has emerged. A second round will therefore take place.

The candidate of the union of the left in Marseilles Michèle Rubirola arrived at the head of the first ballot in the municipal council Saturday, but did not obtain the absolute majority necessary to become mayor of the second city of France. A second round is therefore necessary to designate the person who will succeed LR Jean-Claude Gaudin who leaves the town hall after 25 years in office. 

No absolute majority, no vote

Michèle Rubirola, 63, a medical doctor who led the union list for the left of the Printemps de Marseille, obtained 42 votes. She needed 46 votes to be elected mayor in the first round, the absolute majority of the votes cast having been lowered with a blank vote and the departure of the nine elected members of the National Rally on a hemicycle which has 101 councilors.

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Guy Teissier, 75, LR candidate after the removal from the top of the list of Republicans Martine Vassal, collected 41. 

The former PS senator Samia Ghali, whose votes are crucial to tilt one side or the other towards the absolute majority, but who ran directly for the post of mayor, she obtained eight votes.

One person voted void.