THE French left and the far right both gained votes in Sunday’s municipal elections.

More than 900,000 candidates were challenging for elected posts in 35,000 municipalities across France, from major towns and cities to villages with only a few dozen inhabitants.

The first round saw strong returns for Jean-Luc Melenchon’s France Unbowed (LFI), the French Communist Party (PCF) and Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally (RN).

The elections now go to a final run-off on March 22.

Sunday’s first-round results showed a significant increase in votes for the LFI, which scored high in the north, in the town of Roubaix, where it could win the mayor’s position.

It also saw significant vote increases in cities including Toulouse, Lille and Limoges, after succeeding in mobilising young voters.

In France’s second biggest city, Marseille, the RN’s Franck Allisio was level after the first round with the incumbent left-wing mayor, Benoit Payan, at about 35.4 per cent, as they head into next weekend’s run off.

In Paris, Emmanuel Gregoire, the mayoral candidate for a left coalition including communists, socialists and greens, was well ahead of the right-wing former culture minister Rachida Dati.

The PCF increased votes means they are likely to retain the 600 town halls they already ran.

But PCF secretary general Fabien Roussel, who was returned in the first round as mayor of Saint-Armand-les-Eaux, said the turnout of less than 59 per cent “is a wake-up call.”

“We call for building the broadest possible popular gatherings against the racist and xenophobic far right and to prevail everywhere against liberal policies that attack our local public services and equality policies.”