Louis Sarkozy and his wife, Natali Husic, in Menton, France, on March 15, 2026. FRÉDÉRIC DIDES / AFP
At age 28, Louis Sarkozy dreams of matching the achievements of his father, former president Nicolas Sarkozy, who won the mayoralty of the Paris suburb of Neuilly-sur-Seine at the same age, in 1983. However, having received just 18.01% of the first-round vote, he is on track to fail to meet that goal. Despite a high-profile campaign, he finished in third place on Sunday, March 15, behind the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) candidate, MP Alexandra Masson (who garnered 36.25%), and right-wing independent Sandra Paire (19.74%). A third right-wing ticket, led by Florent Champion, received 15.09% of the vote.
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In a display of his usual confidence, the younger Sarkozy said his score "compelled" him to surpass himself, saying he had only been living in Menton for a few months. He had failed to convince voters in Menton, a town plagued by scandals that undermined the outgoing municipal government. On March 6, Mayor Yves Juhel, 80, was sentenced by a Marseille criminal court to three years in prison, two of which were suspended, for complicity in embezzlement of public funds and concealing crimes. The town's deputy mayor for finance, Mathieu Messina, also received a three-year prison sentence.
