The French Municipal elections and the "Green wave" received little coverage in the English language press. Politico.eu, based mostly in Brussels, is one of the few to cover extensively local politics in continental Europe.

How France's youngest green mayor wants to transform her city

Léonore Moncond'huy, a 30-year-old member of the green Europe Ecologie-Les Verts party, in June beat previous Socialist Mayor Alain Claeys, who had run the city for a dozen years. Moncond'huy built her campaign on a promise to radically change her city's approach to economic growth and the environment.

She's part of a broader green wave that swept through cities including Strasbourg, Marseille, Lyon and Bordeaux in France's local elections.

Just two months after taking office, Moncond'huy is already upending Poitiers' priorities.

One of her first decisions was to put on hold the construction of a new building on the city's riverbank because it didn't include sustainability standards. It's part of a vision to halt urban sprawl and to protect farmland.

She's also keen to apply some of the ideas from the country's experiment in direct democracy, the citizens' climate convention. "I appreciate the radical nature of these measures, which shows that society is ready for radical change," she said.

"Leading by example is for us the first lever to create a ripple effect among citizens and businesses," Moncond'huy said, "to show it's possible."

She also plans a U-turn from her predecessor's economic development policy, which was aimed at attracting outside investors to the city of 90,000. Instead, she's counting on empowering local businesses and creating a more circular economy.