France’s welfare state now masks deeper fracture, rising crime and a political shift in its urban outskirts As a result of the March 2026 municipal elections, as many as 11 French cities came under the control of migrants. This is no exaggeration. First, that was the election agenda itself, formulated with utmost clarity by La Courneuve mayoral candidate Ali Diouara: “My issue is our own, the locals. And when I say ‘our own, the locals,’ I mean Blacks and Arabs.” Second, the new mayors from