Municipal 2026: Serge Blanco, Johan Micoud, Olivier Girault… Which athletes are candidates in the elections?

Artists, actors, personalities from the business world… Every six years, many faces known to the general public swap the stage, the big screen or corporate meetings to try to run for the tricolor sash. Athletes are no exception.

While the race for the 2026 municipal elections will end this weekend with the first of two votes at the polls, scheduled for March 15 and 22, Le Parisien takes stock of these personalities from the world of sport, active or not, aiming for a municipal mandate.

Blanco targets Biarritz, duel Micoud-Llodra in Bordeaux

He is arguably the most well-known name on the list. French rugby legend, Serge Blanco is running for mayor of Biarritz (Pyrénées-Atlantiques). Without a label, the former French international (93 caps) decided to face the outgoing mayor Maider Arosteguy in particular to oppose the project to build residential buildings on the Aguilera site, where Biarritz Olympique plays, whose colors he wore throughout his career.

Unlike Blanco, president of the National Rugby League (1998-2008) and vice-president of the French Rugby Federation (2012-2016), he had never held political office before getting involved in the municipal campaign: Johan Micoud, the ex-footballer who played for the Girondins between 1996 and 2000, appears on the unlabeled list of the economist Philippe Dessertine, credited with 17% in the latest polls in Bordeaux.

“I don’t have a career plan but I know that if you really want to change things, you have to get involved in politics,” commented the man with 17 caps for the French team to L’Équipe. Eager to put “sport at the center” of his project, Micoud will notably face Michaël Llodra, present on the list of Renaissance deputy Thomas Cazenave.

For her part, Marie Martinod is running for mayor of her town of Aime-la-Plagne, in Savoie. Double Olympic medalist in freestyle skiing, both times in silver, the former half-pipe specialist intends to take over from Corinne Maironi-Gonthier, for whom she was until now the deputy for Sports and Communication, and who is not running again.

David Gérard, the only athlete committed to the RN

If her list is without a political label, it remains labeled Divers gauche by the local prefecture, unlike that of Laure Lavalette, on which David Gérard appears in Toulon. The former second row of Toulouse and Racing 92 is one of the rare athletes committed to the National Rally (RN) during this campaign.

He leads his sporting career and the race for mayor of Toulouse at the same time: Sofiane Oumiha is on the list of Jean-Luc Moudenc, in office since 2014 and candidate for re-election in the Pink City. Twice Olympic vice-champion, the 31-year-old boxer “wants to give back to (Toulouse) what it gave (him), as he confided to L’Équipe last November. Silver in the lightweight category during the Paris 2024 Games, the man who grew up in the heart of the Bagatelle district returned to the professional world after his Parisian podium.

Having just retired from the pelotons, Pierre Latour has put away his bib shorts to join the list led by Marie-Hélène Thoraval in Romans-sur-Isère (Drôme). The former cyclist dreams of “being able to help the community and athletes of the region” alongside the outgoing mayor, labeled Miscellaneous Right. Winner of a stage in the Vuelta in 2017, the double French time trial champion ended his career in October 2025.

Still active, Johan Gastien, Clermont Foot executive since 2018, is placed in 7th position on the list guided by Sébastien Besnard, uninitiated candidate for mayor of Sayat, commune of Puy-de-Dôme. “I don’t do politics at all,” he declared to France 3 Auvergne – Rhône-Alpes shortly after the announcement, in January. “I do this because I love the town in which I live. My children will grow up here. I want this to also develop for my children,” said the midfielder with 106 Ligue 1 matches, who plans to retire if elected.

Olivier Girault candidate despite an investigation

Another player involved: Pierrick Capelle, executive of SCO Angers since 2015. The only professional footballer active in a French town hall, the 38-year-old midfielder, elected municipal councilor in 2020, appears on the list of Franck Poquin, the only candidate for his succession in Saint-Jean-de-Linières (Maine-et-Loire).

Olympic handball champion with the French team in Beijing in 2008, Olivier Girault, under preliminary investigation for suspicions of favoritism, breach of trust and harassment following his time at the head of the National School Sports Union (UNSS), presents himself in Vaires-sur-Marne (Seine-et-Marne).

Also note, the presence of Le Havre goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi in penultimate position on Sarah Vidal’s list in Rodez (Aveyron) or that of Quentin Bigot, the only French world medalist in hammer throwing, candidate without label in Gandrange-Boussange (Moselle). The MMA fighter Taylor Lapilus is engaged in Dammarie-les-Lys (Seine-et-Marne).