Subject · France, administrative courts
Elections
In 2025, the French administrative courts issued 178 decisions on elections, that is 0.06% of the year's decisions (32% fewer than in 2024): 130 before the administrative tribunals, 8 before the administrative courts of appeal and 40 before the Conseil d'État. Before the administrative tribunals, the number of decisions (130) is below 200: the dismissal rate and the median time are not computed.
- Decisions in 2025178−32% over one year
- Share of administrative decisions0.06%out of 279,322 decisions in 2025
- Dismissed at first instance–below 200 decisions: not computed
- Median time at first instance–below 200 judgments: not computed
Decisions year by year
This chart follows, year by year, the number of decisions issued on elections at each level of the administrative courts, and the share they represent among all decisions. This volume measures judicial output and is not the same as the number of cases filed in the same year: a case may be decided months, or even years, after it was filed.
The number of decisions on elections fell every year, from 1,101 in 2023 to 178 in 2025. This subject accounts for 0.06% of all administrative court decisions in 2025 (0.10% in 2024). It accounts for 0.05% of the decisions of the administrative tribunals, 0.03% of the decisions of the courts of appeal and 0.53% of the decisions of the Conseil d'État.
- Administrative tribunals
- Administrative courts of appeal
- Conseil d'État
| Year | Administrative tribunals | Administrative courts of appeal | Conseil d'État | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 1,046 | 18 | 37 | 1,101 | 0.45% |
| 2024 | 215 | 15 | 30 | 260 | 0.10% |
| 2025 | 130 | 8 | 40 | 178 | 0.06% |
Series start in 2023, the first full year in which the administrative tribunals and courts of appeal published their decisions. Share: that of the subject among all decisions of the year.
The courts concerned
The table lists the courts that issued at least one decision on elections in 2025. For each of them it gives the number of decisions and the share the subject represents among all its decisions, then, where the number of decisions allows it, the dismissal rate and the median time to judgment. Each court links to its own page.
In 2025, 32 administrative tribunals, 4 administrative courts of appeal and the Conseil d'État issued at least one decision on elections. Among the administrative tribunals, the Tribunal administratif de Paris (22 decisions), the Tribunal administratif de Melun (11) and the Tribunal administratif de Lille (10) issued the largest numbers; together they account for 33% of the tribunals' decisions on this subject. Among the courts of appeal, the Cour administrative d'appel de Paris issued the largest number (5). No administrative tribunal reaches 200 decisions on this subject in the year: the dismissal rate and the median time are shown for any of them.
Share of caseload: share of the subject among all the decisions of the court. Dismissal rate not computed below 200 decisions of the court on the subject; median time: judgments only, excluding orders, not computed below 200 judgments. Below 200 decisions in the year, a court only has its number of decisions.
See also Justice in France: all courts
The other subjects
The decisions of the administrative courts are divided here into 16 categories, one of which is “other matters”, according to the legal texts cited in each decision. The table gives the volume of the other categories in 2025; each row links to its page.
In 2025, the administrative courts issued 279,322 decisions, divided among 16 categories; elections accounts for 178 (0.06%). The categories with the most decisions, apart from “other matters”, are immigration (111,932), tax (11,968), housing (11,393) and social welfare (10,925). Among the subjects with at least 1,000 decisions before the administrative tribunals, the median time ranges from 3 months for immigration to 27 months for tax.
| Subject | Decisions 2025 | Share | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Immigration | 111,932 | 40% | +9% |
| Tax | 11,968 | 4.3% | +2% |
| Housing | 11,393 | 4.1% | −22% |
| Social welfare | 10,925 | 3.9% | −5% |
| Civil service | 10,831 | 3.9% | −2% |
| Planning and building permits | 7,808 | 2.8% | −24% |
| Local authorities and public property | 5,234 | 1.9% | +24% |
| Driving licences | 4,809 | 1.7% | +15% |
| Employment law | 3,547 | 1.3% | +18% |
| Public health | 2,721 | 0.97% | +3% |
| Environment and agriculture | 2,333 | 0.84% | −22% |
| Education | 2,332 | 0.83% | −28% |
| Policing | 1,999 | 0.72% | 0% |
| Public procurement | 1,926 | 0.69% | +7% |
| Other matters | 89,386 | 32% | +39% |
Subject determined from the legal texts cited in each decision; “other matters” groups decisions without a characteristic text.
See also Justice in France Constitutional Council
Understanding these figures
Local elections
This subject rests on the Electoral Code: challenges to the results of municipal, departmental and regional elections, the regularity of the campaign and of campaign accounts, and the ineligibility that can follow. National parliamentary, Senate and presidential elections fall to the Constitutional Council, presented separately on this site.
Volumes that follow the election calendar
The number of decisions varies from one year to the next with the calendar of local elections. Challenges to a municipal or departmental election are first heard by the administrative tribunal, within a time limit set by law, with appeal to the Conseil d'État; regional elections are heard directly by the Conseil d'État.
Why the median
The median is preferred to the average: a few cases lasting several years are enough to inflate an average, while they barely move the median. Times are counted in completed months, from the filing of the application to the judgment; orders issued by a single judge, in particular in summary proceedings, are left out. For elections, no court level has 200 judgments in the year: times are not computed.
Outcome families
Outcomes are grouped into families. Dismissal covers claims found unfounded, inadmissible or brought before the wrong court. “Annulled or granted” brings together the decisions that find for the applicant in whole or in part: annulment of an act, amendment of a judgment, an injunction addressed to the public body. “No need to rule” means that the dispute lost its purpose during the proceedings, “withdrawn” that the applicant dropped the claim, and a referral sends the case to another court.
Reading the figures with care
These figures describe past decisions. A decision is attached to a subject from the legal texts it cites: a case that touches several fields is counted in only one of them. The dismissal rate and the times depend first on the nature of the cases decided, so two subjects, like two courts that do not receive the same disputes, cannot be compared point by point. No statistic can predict the outcome of a particular case. Here, this subject accounts for 0.06% of the decisions of the administrative courts in 2025.
Frequently asked questions
How many administrative court decisions concern elections?
In 2025, the administrative courts published 178 decisions on elections, that is 0.06% of all decisions of the year (32% fewer than in 2024): 130 by the administrative tribunals; 8 by the courts of appeal; 40 by the Conseil d'État.
What share of cases on elections is dismissed by the administrative tribunals?
In 2025, 130 administrative tribunal decisions concern elections, fewer than 200: the dismissal rate is not computed.
How long does an administrative tribunal take to decide a case on elections?
The median time is not computed before the administrative tribunals for elections in 2025, as there are fewer than 200 judgments in the year.
Which courts issue the most decisions on elections?
Among the administrative tribunals, the Tribunal administratif de Paris (22 decisions in 2025), the Tribunal administratif de Melun (11) and the Tribunal administratif de Lille (10) issued the largest numbers. Among the courts of appeal, the Cour administrative d'appel de Paris issued 5.