PARIS (AP) — French voters returned to the polls Sunday for the second and final round of municipal elections in over 1,500 communes.

The vote is a test of the balance of power on France’s local political map before the 2027 presidential race begins to take shape. It is also a measure of whether the far right can convert national momentum into control of major cities, where it has often struggled to break through.

The most closely watched contests are concentrated in major cities after a first round that left France’s traditional left and right competitive, the far right strongly placed in several urban races especially in southeastern France, and President Emmanuel Macron ’s centrist movement keeping a low profile in many of the most closely watched races.

After days of mergers, withdrawals and tactical deals between lists, three-way races remain common in the runoff. Mayors and municipal councilors are elected for six years.

Turnout at 5 p.m. local time was just over 48% in France’s mainland, higher than in the 2020 vote held during the COVID-19 pandemic but four points lower than in 2014, according to the Ministry of Interior. Polling stations were open until 8 p.m. in the biggest cities.

Paris is one of the biggest prizes. Emmanuel Gr goire, a Socialist heading a list uniting the traditional left, the Greens and the Communists, finished first in the opening round with 37.98% of the vote, ahead of conservative contender Rachida Dati with 25.46%, while hard-left France Unbowed candidate Sophia Chikirou stayed in the race, setting up a volatile contest.

Gr goire campaigned on promises of continuity with outgoing mayor and fellow Socialist Anne Hidalgo, while Dati, culture minister until recent weeks, hopes to put an end to 25 years of left-wing leadership in the French capital.

At a polling station in Paris, some voters said turnout itself could prove decisive. “When things are a bit tense between two candidates, it’s abstention that can make the difference,” said Lo c F vrier, 51, a Paris resident. “If we ever lose this right to vote, it will be very, very hard to get it back.”

The mood around the vote in the French capital mixed familiarity with unease. “I’ve never seen very quiet elections,” said Val rie Pollet, 64. “Verbal violence, we are used to it ... but when I look at what happens in the U.S., I think here it’s quiet in comparison.”

The Mediterranean city of Marseille is another marquee battle, where incumbent left-wing Mayor Beno t Payan led with 36.70%, only narrowly ahead of far-right candidate Franck Allisio with 35.02%, with Martine Vassal of the right also still in play.

In Nice, on the French Riviera, far-right candidate Eric Ciotti, a former conservative who allied with the National Rally of Marine Le Pen, came out of the first round as the clear front-runner with 43.43%, well ahead of the candidate of the mainstream right who got 30.92%.

The far right also appears well-placed in the southern cities of N mes and the port of Toulon, a major naval base on the Mediterranean.

Other large-city contests will also be watched closely.

In Lyon, the runoff is shaping up as a direct duel after ecologist incumbent Gr gory Doucet took 37.36% in the first round, just ahead of centrist challenger Jean-Michel Aulas on 36.78%.

Toulouse will test the appeal of France Unbowed in a large city after Fran ois Piquemal joined forces with the broader left to try to unseat conservative Mayor Jean-Luc Moudenc, who led the first round with 37.23%.

In Nantes, Socialist Mayor Johanna Rolland starts the runoff ahead of her right-wing challenger, while Bordeaux remains open after Green incumbent Pierre Hurmic topped a fragmented field.

Last Sunday, voters selected their mayor in about 93% of 35,000 villages, towns and cities, where mostly one or two candidates, not associated with any party, competed.

Some linked Sunday’s vote to a darker international backdrop and to the presidential race looming next year. “We have war in Ukraine, war in Gaza, war in the Middle East,” said Elena Van Langhenhoven, 81. “And France, will it see a major shift next year, in the presidential elections? It’s horrendous.”

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Associated Press journalists Sylvie Corbet and Alex Turnbull contributed to this report.