Overview

• On July 6, LFI deputy leader Mathilde Panot told BFMTV that municipal community police do not need firearms and vowed to disarm them if her party wins mayoralties in 2026.
• Panot’s stance revives a measure long included in LFI’s “L’Avenir en Commun” program and exposes fractures in the Nouveau Front populaire between national leadership and pragmatic local officials.
• Several mayors, notably Bordeaux’s Pierre Hurmic, have this year moved ahead with arming municipal officers to respond to rising security concerns.
• Right-wing and far-right parties have capitalized on the debate to attack left-wing parties for alleged laxity on public safety.
• The discussion over local police armament comes as the national government considers expanded municipal policing powers and surveys show about two-thirds of citizens support arming officers ahead of the March 2026 elections.