Idunn Kalvik Takvam

Residents in Caen and surrounding communes are set to receive a test emergency alert on their mobile phones tomorrow morning, Tuesday, 28th April, as part of a civil defence exercise organised by the Calvados prefecture.

Aristide Olivier has been returned as mayor of Caen after a convincing victory in the second round of the municipal election. Olivier took 59.38% of the vote, comfortably ahead of his two left-wing rivals, according to official results published by the French Interior Ministry. His list will now hold 44 seats on the new municipal council.

Around 32,000 students took part in Caen's student carnival last week, filling the city with colour, music and costumes. Among them were several international students, many of whom were experiencing Europe's largest student carnival for the very first time.

The first round of the 2026 French municipal elections has confirmed the strong position of the incumbent mayor in Caen. Aristide Olivier, the current mayor and an independent centre-right candidate, finished well ahead of his rivals with 48.51% of the vote, only a few percentage points away from victory in the first round.