Municipal elections were held in France on 6 and 13 March 1983. The left, in power since only two years, was defeated in the 1983 locals by the RPR-UDF. The Communists lost Saint-Étienne

Saint-Étienne

Saint-Étienne is a city in eastern central France. It is located in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon in the Rhône-Alpes region, along the trunk road that connects Toulouse with Lyon...

 and Reims

Reims

Reims , a city in the Champagne-Ardenne region of France, lies east-northeast of Paris. Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire....

, while the PS lost Tourcoing

Tourcoing

Tourcoing is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Nord.Tourcoing is situated near the cities of Lille and Roubaix and the Belgian border.-Main sights:...

, Grenoble

Grenoble

Grenoble is a city in southeastern France, at the foot of the French Alps where the river Drac joins the Isère. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère...

, and Roubaix

Roubaix

Roubaix is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is located between the cities of Lille and Tourcoing.The Gare de Roubaix railway station offers connections to Lille, Tourcoing, Antwerp, Ostend and Paris.-Culture:...

. They narrowly held Marseille

Marseille

Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...

 (with Gaston Defferre

Gaston Defferre

Gaston Defferre was a French socialist politician.-Biography:Lawyer and member of the French Section of the Workers' International political party, he was a member of the Brutus Network, a Resistance Socialist group during World War II...

) against Jean-Claude Gaudin

Jean-Claude Gaudin

Jean-Claude Gaudin is a French politician. He has been Mayor of Marseille since 1995 and Vice-President of the Senate since 1998; additionally, he has been Vice-President of the Union for a Popular Movement since 2002.-Early life:...

 (UDF). In Paris, Chirac was easily re-elected, sweeping all arrondissements.

Sources

• Locals 1983
• E-P Locals