Stéphanie Rist Leads First Round in Loiret Partial Legislative Election Amid Ministerial Stakes

On January 18, 2026, Stéphanie Rist, the French Minister of Health, took the lead in the first round of the partial legislative election in Loiret’s 1st constituency with 35% of the votes, according to official results from the Loiret prefecture. She was followed by Tiffanie Rabault of the Rassemblement National with 29.4%, and Ghislaine Kounowski of the Socialist Party who secured 25.3%. Other candidates included Houari Belgherbi from LFI with 5.4% and Nicole Maurice from Reconquête! with 4.9%. The second round is scheduled for January 25.

This election was triggered by the refusal of Rist’s substitute, Stéphane Chouin, to assume the parliamentary seat, citing his desire to remain mayor of Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Mesmin. Rist, who has been the Health Minister since mid-October 2025 and originally elected in 2017, had relinquished her seat to Chouin but had to run again following this dispute. She expressed that the situation stemmed from a misunderstanding regarding Chouin’s willingness to replace her.

Rist stated that if she wins the election, she intends to remain in her ministerial position and have her substitute replaced by Marie-Philippe Lubet, mayor of Saint-Denis-en-Val. Conversely, she pledged to offer her resignation to the Prime Minister if defeated. This partial election comes after a narrow victory in the July 2024 legislative election where she edged out Kounowski by just 69 votes in the first round. Previously, in 2024, Rist had won decisively against the far-right candidate Rabault with more than 67% of votes due to Kounowski withdrawing to avoid vote splitting.

The campaign occurs against a backdrop of challenges faced by Rist, including strikes by liberal doctors, reflecting ongoing health sector tensions. While turnout data was not final by the evening of January 18, expectations were for a significant voter participation. This election’s outcome will be crucial not only for the local representation of Loiret’s 1st constituency but also for the future composition of the government and Rist’s ministerial career.