After eighteen years leading the city, Christian Estrosi acknowledged his defeat on Sunday evening at the second round of the 2026 municipal elections in Nice. In a speech marked by emotion, the outgoing mayor saluted the voters’ choice and announced his withdrawal from municipal life.
The second round of the 2026 municipal elections in Nice marked a political turning point. The mayor of the Azure Coast capital lost what should be his last political battle at the local level against Eric Ciotti. This result ends three successive terms and eighteen years of municipal management.
Facing voters, the outgoing mayor spoke shortly after the results were announced: “the verdict of the polls has been delivered.” The speech was marked by sobriety. “You have chosen to entrust the future of our city of Nice to a new team. This choice, I fully respect it, because it is the very essence of the democracy to which we are all attached.”
In this address, thanks were given to both supporters and opponents. “To those who gave me their trust, I want to say thank you. To those who made a different choice, I want to say that I respect you just as much.”
The outgoing mayor discussed the record of these years leading the city. Urban transformation and attractiveness were highlighted. “At the end of these three terms, who can say that we have not transformed Nice over these 18 years?”
The speech also recalled significant episodes, notably the July 14, 2016 attack and the health crisis: “losing an election is nothing compared to the loss of a loved one.”
Christian Estrosi regretted criticisms made about a campaign “marked by fake news, lies (…) and unnatural alliances.” Accusations were also made against an alliance described as “objective” between the ecological left and the National Rally. Marine Tondelier and Juliette Chesnel-Leroux were not spared: “this municipal campaign in Nice will be remembered as the one where the ecological left made an objective alliance with the RN. The republican front is dead. And it will be dead in Nice. Madame Marine Tondelier and Juliette Chesnel-Leroux will bear this responsibility in history.”
A political chapter closes
The defeat is accompanied by a withdrawal from Nice’s political life: “today, a chapter closes. Tonight I say goodbye to you. But not farewell (…) I will now take the necessary step back, devote a little more time to my family and consider other challenges.”
His speech took on a personal dimension at the end: “to have been your mayor… it was the honor of a lifetime.” A tribute was paid to those close to him, particularly his wife Laura Tenoudji: “without her, I would not have been the man I am, nor the mayor I tried to be.”
The conclusion was direct. “So tonight, I do not say goodbye to you. I say thank you. I love you.”
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