Law of August 11, 2025 reforming the method of election of members of the Paris Council and the municipal councils of Lyon and Marseille

This law amends the so-called 'PLM Law' of 1982, which established a special governance framework for France's three largest cities: Paris, Lyon, and Marseille. Under the original PLM law, residents voted for municipal councillors who then indirectly determined the composition of the city council through arrondissement-level elections. The 2025 reform replaces this indirect mechanism with direct universal suffrage. Starting from the March 2026 municipal elections, residents of Paris, Lyon, and Marseille will cast two distinct ballots: one to elect their local arrondissement or sector councillors, and a second to directly elect members of the city-wide council. This dual-vote system is designed to strengthen democratic legitimacy and give voters a clearer, more direct say in who governs their city at both the local and metropolitan levels. The reform represents a significant constitutional and administrative overhaul for three cities that together account for several million French citizens. It modernizes a four-decade-old electoral framework and aligns the governance of these cities more closely with standard French municipal election rules, while preserving the unique multi-tier structure that reflects their size and complexity.

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