Since yesterday, seven candidates have declared themselves for the municipal election in Nice. Lawyer, teacher, entrepreneur or experienced elected officials, the profiles are varied. The lists cover a broad political spectrum. Overview of the candidates in the order announced by the Prefect.
Mireille Damiano
Lawyer registered with the Nice bar since 1985, Mireille Damiano practices mainly in labor law and family law. A long-established professional activity that structures part of the discourse in this campaign.
Her candidacy is at the head of the Nice Popular Front. This list brings together left-wing components, including La France insoumise, the Viva collective, the alternative left, the NPA, the Occitan academy and ecologists grouped under the name Towards the Future. Public support from European MP Manon Aubry accompanied her entry into the campaign.
Mireille Damiano’s positioning is based on a logic of unity. The list emphasizes a local gathering of diverse sensibilities, with the objective of proposing a municipal alternative anchored on the left.
Céline Forjonnel
Aged 39, Céline Forjonnel worked for ten years as a financial advisor before turning to artistic projects and the establishment of citizen assemblies. Her career is presented by her as coming from civil society.
Her list, Nice Direct Democracy, claims an entirely citizen-based approach. The stated principle consists of directly involving residents in municipal decisions and guaranteeing representation open to all.
The collective was formed around local mobilizations, particularly during the health crisis related to Covid, with demands in favor of vaccine freedom. Participants from the yellow vests movement are also part of the team. Its campaign emphasizes the idea of local democracy based on direct involvement.
Cédric Vella
Entrepreneur and insurance broker, Cédric Vella is 30 years old. His first political involvement took place within Young Pop, which became Young Republicans. A candidacy that ran under the National Rally ticket is also part of his background.
During the 2022 legislative elections in the fifth constituency, Cédric Vella obtained 7.15% of the votes. This experience constitutes a previous electoral precedent in Nice.
The municipal candidacy is now supported by the Reconquête! party. The candidate claims to defend the orientations carried at the national level by Éric Zemmour. The campaign is in a clearly right-wing political line.
Estelle Jaquet
Teacher at the Magnan vocational high school, Estelle Jaquet had already run in the 2020 municipal elections. Her result in the first round had reached 0.66% of the vote.
The new candidacy is still under the Workers’ Struggle ticket. The list is named “The Workers’ Camp” and brings together workers, employees, home care workers and teachers.
The approach assumes a claimed anchoring in the world of work. While the possibility of winning elected officials is presented as uncertain for the list leader, presence in the municipal debate is considered as a political stake in itself.
Christian Estrosi
Mayor of Nice for nearly 17 years, after a first term in 2008 and a second interrupted in 2016 by a function as delegate president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur regional council, Christian Estrosi is seeking the votes of Nice residents for the fourth time.
His political career also includes government responsibilities. He had obtained a position as deputy minister for Territorial Planning under the presidency of Jacques Chirac, then a portfolio in charge of Industry under the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy.
His current candidacy is presented under the Horizons ticket.
Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux
Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux, 62, heads the ecological group on the Nice municipal council and the metropolitan authority. Her investment by Europe Écologie-Les Verts for the 2026 election was announced several months before the official opening of the campaign.
An alliance with socialists and communists was agreed to form a union of the left. In 2020, Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux was in second place on the list led by Jean-Marc Governatori (now allied with Eric Ciotti, editor’s note). This list obtained 11% in the first round and then 19% in the second.
Her candidacy aims to consolidate an ecological project and a coalition extended to the left.
Eric Ciotti
Eric Ciotti was born in Nice in 1965. His first political involvement took place within the RPR on the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur regional council, before a collaboration with Christian Estrosi at the ministry of Territorial Planning.
In 2008, an election to the Nice municipal council led him to the position of first deputy. The same year, he became president of the Alpes-Maritimes general council.
Eric Ciotti is today deputy for the 1st constituency of Alpes-Maritimes and head of the finance commission in the department. In 2024, following the announcement of the dissolution of the National Assembly by Emmanuel Macron, an alliance with the National Rally is announced as president of the Republicans, a decision contested by part of the party that pushed him to create the UDR (Union of Republican Rights).
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