France’s environmental parties saw a surge in recent municipal elections, a success the local media are calling “the green wave”. The Greens captured a string of important large and mid-sized towns, including Bordeaux, Lyon, Strasbourg and Besançon. Does this signal a deep change in France’s political landscape? Meanwhile,the second round was marked by a historically low turnout with just 40% of France’s electorate casting ballots. Was this due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis or is it indicative of a crisis of democracy?