It is a victory that was built, not merely won. On Sunday 22 March 2026, Serge Blanco was elected mayor of Biarritz with 41.92% of the vote in the second round. Maider Arosteguy received 32.21%, Ana Ezcurra 25.87%. What made this result possible came down to a single decision taken on the evening of the first round.
Jean-Baptiste Dussaussois-Larralde: the man who made the difference
In the first round, Jean-Baptiste Dussaussois-Larralde had gathered 13.11% of the vote with his CAP BIARRITZ list. At 38, this opposition councillor had sat on the municipal council for six years, a fierce opponent of Maider Arosteguy on two specific issues: the preservation of the Aguilera sports plateau and the city’s financial management — what he called the “sell-off of local heritage”. Grounded in the detail of policy, he had built genuine programmatic credibility.
When the question of endorsement arose on the evening of 15 March, he chose Blanco — quickly, without lengthy negotiation, without ambiguity. The two lists merged the following day. On paper, 13 extra points. In practice, far more: a credibility of content for a list whose strength had been primarily symbolic.
In the new municipal team, Dussaussois-Larralde is no decorative figure. He brings what Blanco did not need to claim in order to win — but will need in order to govern: a detailed knowledge of the files, institutional networks, and six years of documented opposition to the outgoing town hall.
Blanco, or the return of the city’s own son
Serge Blanco is 67. He was born in Caracas, raised in Biarritz, and never really left. His rugby career with Biarritz Olympique and the French national team made him a national legend. His second career — clothing, thalassotherapy, hotels — anchored him in the local economic fabric. His third is beginning at the town hall square.
His list “Mon équipe c’est Biarritz!” carried a line his supporters summed up in one sentence: “Let Biarritz be Biarritz again.” A deliberately vague formulation that nonetheless said something real — the nostalgia for a city where life was still good, before everything became too expensive, too crowded, too sold off.
The issues that await
The list is long. The erosion of the Côte des Basques cliffs is an open project — the stabilisation works, interrupted and then resumed, remain a priority for surfers and residents of the neighbourhood. The Aguilera project — 250 housing units on the plateau, strongly contested during the campaign — will be one of the first tests of the new majority. And the housing question, in a city where prices have gradually excluded local residents over the past decade, remains the underlying issue.
The municipal council installation session for the new term was held on Saturday 28 March 2026 at the town hall. First public session, first faces, first image of a team that is beginning.
Second round results — 22 March 2026
- Serge Blanco (Mon équipe c’est Biarritz!) — 41.92%
- Maider Arosteguy (Ensemble, vivons Biarritz) — 32.21%
- Ana Ezcurra (Biarritz Berri Nouvelle Vague) — 25.87%