After twenty years of socialist governance, and while Anne Hidalgo has announced that she would not represent herself, several contenders, on the left, already position themselves for the municipal elections of 2026.
by Laurent Telo
Anne Hidalgo has announced that she will not seek a third term. She had also swore that she would not be a candidate for the presidential election. But the entourage of the mayor of Paris hammers that Emmanuel Grégoire, his first assistant, will be erected as a natural candidate for 2026, despite some sporadic tensions. This one is ready to capture the inheritance, while distinguishing itself when the time comes.
it remains to be seen whether, within four years, he will not have exhausted to manage, on the front line in the face of an overwhelmed opposition, a marathon of burning files, as Anne Hidalgo cultivates a media under-exposition Since its disappointment in the presidential election. The organization of the 2024 Olympic Games does not change anything. According to the various municipal oppositions, after more than twenty years of socialist governance and the election of Bertrand Delanoë in 2001, the reversed hatreds infiltrated the corridors of the town hall and draw an atmosphere at the end of the reign.
Rebatter cards
Within the municipal majority, environmentalists, a point of point, dream of finally taking their autonomy. They will need a major headliner. David Belliard, deputy mayor of transport, is a claimant: “Ecologists will have a role to play, they can even win this election.” Yannick Jadot, former presidential candidate, could also compete: “That’s part of The inventory of possibilities “, confirms his advisor, Alexis Braud.
More to the left, rebellious France has only one elected official to the Paris Council, Danielle Simonnet. A quota that is not very representative of the “rebellious” electoral potential. The movement bet on the candidacy of Sophia Chikirou, MP for Paris and close to Jean-Luc Mélenchon. But, targeted in the 2017 campaign account case, it seems considerably weakened. The evolution of the new ecological and social popular union could, in any case, rebound the maps and lead to a unique coalition to the confluence of the left wings of ecological and socialist parties.
On the right, Rachida Dati, who had created the surprise in 2020 by gathering 34.3 % of the votes in the second round, remains essential. She has become diligent in the Paris Council, now puts her nose in all files. “Rachida Dati is an identified brand,” says David Alphand, delegate vice-president of the Parisian group Les Républicains. With an obvious conquest strategy: work your stature beyond the permanent buzz, while keeping your sharpness to weaken Anne Hidalgo. His relatives are not afraid of the possible advance of the judicial files in which his name is cited. No plan B is envisaged.
At least, all agree on one point: the campaign will be unbreathable.