Imposed transitions and territorial backlash: onshore wind, regional development and far-right voting in France

Abstract

Abstract This article examines whether onshore wind deployment is associated with far-right voting across French municipalities and how this relationship varies across project stages and neighbouring territories. We combine a panel of 34,448 municipalities over the 2007–2022 presidential cycles with the official register of wind projects. Far-right vote share rises around the permit stage, remains elevated through construction and operation and follows a territorial gradient, with stronger associations in host municipalities. Deposit-only projects show a short-lived increase that fades. Through territorial environmental justice, the findings show how transition infrastructures can become electorally consequential when territorial implementation is uneven.