Justice cancels the municipal elections of Wittelsheim, the only city won by the National Rally in Alsace

The judgment fell this Tuesday, October 6: the administrative court of Strasbourg annulled the municipal elections of Wittelsheim. At issue: several irregularities pointed out by the Haut-Rhin prefecture and the former mayor of the city. Wittelsheim was the only commune in Alsace to be led by the National Rally.

“It’s certain that it’s not easy to work with this sword of Damocles for six months,” said Déborah Louis, RN deputy to the mayor of Wittelsheim as she left the hearing at the Strasbourg administrative court on September 29. Well the sword of Damocles fell this Tuesday, October 9. The Strasbourg administrative court has ruled: the March 2026 elections are indeed canceled.

The election was contested by both the Haut-Rhin prefecture and the city's former centrist mayor, Yves Goepfert, who had led this town of 10,000 inhabitants between 2014 and 2026. Last March, he lost the elections by 17 votes to RN candidate Raphaële Schober. Considering that the vote had been marred by irregularities, the latter filed an appeal for annulment with the administrative court of Strasbourg on March 26, 2026, as did the prefect of Haut-Rhin, a few days later, on April 8, 2026.

Opinion consistent with that of the public rapporteur

Tuesday September 29, the public rapporteur spoke out in favor of the cancellation of the elections. The court therefore followed his opinion. To justify the cancellation of the elections, he cites two irregularities. Firstly, he notes that the ballots used in the first round for the “United today, committed to tomorrow” list, which ultimately came in third position, did not mention the Italian nationality of a candidate. While it is an obligation according to the Electoral Code, with the aim of “complete information for voters”.

Another argument put forward by the Strasbourg administrative court: the comments written by Frédéric Grasseler - candidate from the RN list - on the social network Facebook at the end of the campaign, constitute according to him a new element of electoral politics, "intervening too late for political adversaries to be able to respond usefully". In this publication, Frédéric Grasseler made accusations about the management of the municipal police by former mayor Yves Goeopfert, whom he accused of "pseudo-harassment".

One month to appeal

“We are obviously satisfied with this decision,” explains Me Clément Dezempte, Yves Goepfert’s lawyer. “The decision is in full compliance with the opinion of the public rapporteur, it is a great satisfaction for the former mayor of Wittelsheim.” This judgment may be appealed to the Council of State within one month. If the cancellation becomes definitive, new elections must be organized within three months.