Anne Hidalgo has announced that she will not run for a third term. She had also sworn that she would not be a candidate in the presidential election. But the entourage of the mayor of Paris insists that Emmanuel Grégoire, his first deputy, will be erected as a natural candidate for 2026, despite some sporadic tensions. This one is ready to capture the heritage, while distinguishing itself from it when the time comes.
It remains to be seen whether, within four years, he will not have exhausted himself managing, on the front line in the face of over-motivated opposition, a marathon of burning issues, as Anne Hidalgo has cultivated under-exposure to the media since her disappointment. in the presidential election. The organization of the 2024 Olympic Games does not change this. According to the various municipal oppositions, after more than twenty years of socialist governance and the election of Bertrand Delanoë in 2001, the annealed hatreds have infiltrated the corridors of the Town hall and draw an atmosphere of end of reign.
Reshuffle the cards
Within the municipal majority itself, ecologists, picky allies, dream of finally taking their autonomy. They will need a major headliner. David Belliard, deputy mayor for transport, is a contender: “Environmentalists will have a role to play, they can even win this election. » Yannick Jadot, former presidential candidate, could also compete: “It’s part of the inventory of possibilities”, confirms his adviser, Alexis Braud.
Further to the left, La France insoumise has only one elected member of the Council of Paris, Danielle Simonnet. A quota that is not very representative of the “rebellious” electoral potential. The movement was betting on the candidacy of Sophia Chikirou, MP for Paris and close to Jean-Luc Mélenchon. But, targeted in the case of the 2017 campaign accounts, it seems considerably weakened. The evolution of the New Popular Ecological and Social Union could, in any case, reshuffle the cards and lead to an unprecedented coalition at the confluence of the left wings of the 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 assiduous at the Council of Paris, henceforth puts her nose in all the files. “Rachida Dati is an identified brand”, notes David Alphand, deputy vice-president of the Parisian group Les Républicains. With an obvious strategy of conquest: work on your stature beyond the permanent buzz, while keeping your edge to weaken Anne Hidalgo. His relatives do not fear the possible progress of the legal files in which his name is cited. No plan B is considered.
At least, everyone agrees on one point: the campaign will be unbreathable.