“Facing backlash, cities stand in solidarity with women around the world”: Equipop’s new booklet for municipal elections

With the 2026 municipal elections just a few days away, Equipop has published a document to draw attention to a major issue that has been virtually absent from the municipal campaign: the role of municipalities in protecting the rights of women and LGBTQIA+ people, from the local to the international level. In a context marked by the rise of reactionary rhetoric and declining funding for associations, cities must become territories of resistance and innovation. This booklet aims to provide tools for municipal campaign teams and future elected officials, as well as for citizens, to whom these elected officials will be accountable, and the media, which has a responsibility to cover these elections and, throughout the year, to inform the general public about democratic issues related to gender equality and women's rights.

Municipalities: a level of trust and action

68% of French people trust their mayor, the highest rate among all elected officials, making municipalities a breeding ground for local democratic engagement and vitality capable of implementing concrete actions, particularly with regard to feminist diplomacy. 

Indeed, feminist diplomacy is not limited to ministries or international summits: it is also practiced in the streets, schools, health centers, and city councils. This is especially true given that municipalities have concrete levers at their disposal: funding for associations, health policies, development of public spaces, education, and city diplomacy. These elections are an opportunity to demand that municipal teams make equality a cross-cutting priority, rather than just a slogan.

Municipal elections are a decisive lever for equality and feminist diplomacy

Municipal elections are an essential lever for promoting equality and feminist diplomacy, particularly in the face of backlash. This term refers to the violent and organized reactions of conservative or masculinist movements which, whenever the rights of women and LGBTQIA+ people advance, actively seek to undermine these advances and roll back existing rights. In this context, cities are on the front line, both as spaces of resistance and as actors of solidarity. In Chicago and Minneapolis, for example, mayors are refusing to enforce federal anti-immigration laws, demonstrating their ability to oppose discriminatory policies. A city can co-finance a shelter for women victims of violence, organize awareness campaigns on sexual and reproductive rights, support international initiatives by establishing decentralized cooperation partnerships, and engage in networks of solidarity cities to resist reactionary policies. It is by building solidarity at all levels—local, national, and international—that women's rights will be protected and that feminist and citizen mobilizations will be able to achieve new societal advances, in France and around the world.

What should you do now?

The 2026 municipal elections will determine the ability of local authorities to resist the erosion of rights and promote a more just society. In the face of backlash, cities can be spaces of protection, innovation, and international solidarity. 

Find out how to take action in our booklet: Facing backlash, cities stand in solidarity with women around the world.

For municipal teams:

1. Investing in public policies that matter to women
2. Ensuring access to sexual and reproductive health and rights in cities
3. Integrating equality into budgetary choices
4. Implementing city diplomacy for women's rights and LGBTQIA+ rights
5. Embedding a culture of equality within municipal teams 
6. Co-developing municipal policies with feminist associations
7. Ensuring long-term financial support for feminist organizations
8. Encourage and promote community and civic engagement at the local level

For voters:

• Ask candidates about their commitments to equality and international solidarity. 
• Be attentive to the integration of women's rights, gender equality, and feminist diplomacy into programs and then into the municipal policies that are implemented. 
• Relay proposals from local associations and participate in public meetings. 

For media and journalists:

• During election season, break stereotypes and diversify perspectives and voices: avoid gender bias in the treatment of candidates and experts, and give a voice to women and LGBTQIA+ individuals, especially those from marginalized groups.
• Integrate equality into all debates: systematically question candidates about their commitments to gender equality and ensure equal visibility for women and men in media coverage, in particular by inviting feminist experts to enrich the analysis.
• Be aware of and recall the legal framework relating to speech that provokes or incites hatred, discrimination, and violence, particularly sexist, racist, homophobic, and transphobic speech. Take care not to present political statements or programs that challenge human rights as ordinary opinions. 
• Document, publish, and disseminate analyses and interpretations of the rise of the far right and anti-rights movements in general, as well as their influence at the municipal level and their links to networks at the national, European, and international levels. 

For more information: Equipop reports: Journalists and Feminists: Better information to preserve democracy and Report on recommendations for media action during election periods.