 He succeeded Antoine Rufenacht (UMP), who was mayor of Le Havre for fifteen years before resigning, as the head of the municipality.The city of Le Havre has long been the strongest bastion of the Communist Party of France, who directed it from 1956 to 1995.Overall, the inhabitants of Le Havre in the 7th electoral district (city centre and western neighbourhoods) tend to vote for the right while those of the 8th electoral district (eastern neighbourhoods) tend to choose the candidate of the left.