Politics
EMMANUEL GREGOIRE IS THE NEW MAYOR OF PARIS RIDING A BICYCLE TO CITY HALL
WON WITH 52%
USPA NEWS -
Emmanuel Gregoire has ultimately carried Paris, despite the match was extremely tight all week. After leading the first round with 38?% (ten points ahead of Rachida Dati’s 25?%), the Socialist MP secured a narrow yet clear second round victory with 51?% of the vote, while Dati, the candidate of Les Republicains and a broad right and centre front, finished at 40.8?% (Ipsos BVA CESI for France Televisions, Radio France, Public Sénat/LCP AN) [Public Senat]. In a strongly symbolic gesture, Grégoire left his home in the 10th arrondissement and rode his bicycle to the Hôtel de Ville, the Paris city hall, to celebrate a win that many had considered uncertain until the final count. As one of the first municipal candidates to sign a tripartite agreement with the Greens and the Communists, Grégoire built an “union of the left” that explicitly excluded LFI; he refused any fusion with Sophia Chikirou’s list, judging the party “antisemitic” [LCP]. A close ally and former deputy of Anne Hidalgo, he defended her network of protected cycle lanes and pledged to extend them, making his bike ride a living emblem of his ecologist stance.
This article is written from the field by our accredited wheelchair using senior political reporter, with part of the election results gathered on site at several party headquarters and the remaining figures drawn from official sources, including the French Interior Ministry and Public Senat, and it draws on her experience and expertise as a senior political correspondent to examine the political implications of the local election results.
EMMANUEL GREGOIRE WINS PARIS AFTER A TENSE, TIGHT 2nd ROUND BIKE RIDE TO CITY HALL: STRONG GREEN SYMBOL AS HE UPHOLDS HIDALGO’S CYCLE LANES
Emmanuel Gregoire’s 38?% on 9 March gave him a cushion, but the week between the rounds was fraught: the right and centre fused partially with Pierre Yves Bournazel’s Horizons Renaissance list (11?% at round one), and far right candidate Sarah Knafo (Reconquete) withdrew. The decisive question was where the 13?% won by LFI’s Sophia Chikirou would go. Grégoire chose not to merge lists with her, keeping a third force of nearly 8 10?% in the second round and forcing Dati to chase a comeback that ultimately fell short.
Emmanuel Gregoire’s 38?% on 9 March gave him a cushion, but the week between the rounds was fraught: the right and centre fused partially with Pierre Yves Bournazel’s Horizons Renaissance list (11?% at round one), and far right candidate Sarah Knafo (Reconquete) withdrew. The decisive question was where the 13?% won by LFI’s Sophia Chikirou would go. Grégoire chose not to merge lists with her, keeping a third force of nearly 8 10?% in the second round and forcing Dati to chase a comeback that ultimately fell short.
RIGHT WING AND FAR RIGHT ALLIANCES FAIL TO OVERTAKE THE LEFT
Rachida Dati’s camp banked on a massive transfer of Bournazel’s voters and of Knafo’s electorate after the latter’s withdrawal. The partial technical fusion with Horizons Renaissance, however, did not generate the expected surge, and Dati improved only to about 41?%–41.5?%, still well below Grégoire’s 50.5?%–51?%.
Rachida Dati’s camp banked on a massive transfer of Bournazel’s voters and of Knafo’s electorate after the latter’s withdrawal. The partial technical fusion with Horizons Renaissance, however, did not generate the expected surge, and Dati improved only to about 41?%–41.5?%, still well below Grégoire’s 50.5?%–51?%.
A NEW PLM ELECTORAL SYSTEM AND A DOUBLE BALLOT FOR PARISIANS
This is the first municipal election under the “PLM” (Paris Lyon Marseille) reform, which requires two separate lists: one for the arrondissements and one for the central mayoralty. Parisians therefore cast two ballots this Sunday, a new procedure that may have blurred vote transfers and added technical complexity to the campaign
This is the first municipal election under the “PLM” (Paris Lyon Marseille) reform, which requires two separate lists: one for the arrondissements and one for the central mayoralty. Parisians therefore cast two ballots this Sunday, a new procedure that may have blurred vote transfers and added technical complexity to the campaign
FINAL SCORE IN PARIS: EMMANUEL GREGOIRE PASSES 50% WITHOUT LFI
For Rachida Dati, wresting the capital from the left was a long stated goal. But she was heavily defeated by the candidate of the left union that stops short of LFI. The final tally: 50.52?% for Emmanuel Gregoire, 41.52?% for Rachida Dati (supported by LR, MoDem, Horizons, Renaissance), and 7.96?% for Chikirou’s maintained Insoumise list [LCP]. Emmanuel Grégoire’s “pari gagné” (Bid won) allows the left to keep governing Paris, a city in its fold since 2001, without depending on LFI.
For Rachida Dati, wresting the capital from the left was a long stated goal. But she was heavily defeated by the candidate of the left union that stops short of LFI. The final tally: 50.52?% for Emmanuel Gregoire, 41.52?% for Rachida Dati (supported by LR, MoDem, Horizons, Renaissance), and 7.96?% for Chikirou’s maintained Insoumise list [LCP]. Emmanuel Grégoire’s “pari gagné” (Bid won) allows the left to keep governing Paris, a city in its fold since 2001, without depending on LFI.
IMPLICATIONS FOR THE LEFT, THE GREENS, AND THE FUTURE OF PARIS MOBILITY
The result confirms that a united left (PS, PCF, Greens, left?leaning centrists) can hold Paris even without LFI, while exposing the ceiling of a right that, even broadened, cannot break through 45%. As a staunch defender of Hidalgo’s protected cycle lanes, Emmanuel Gregoire is expected to accelerate the “15?minute city” and the expansion of the cyclable network, turning his bike ride from the 10th into a policy blueprint. The right must rethink its rallying strategy in the capital, and LFI must redefine its role as a left?wing opposition after being excluded from the governing bloc.
The result confirms that a united left (PS, PCF, Greens, left?leaning centrists) can hold Paris even without LFI, while exposing the ceiling of a right that, even broadened, cannot break through 45%. As a staunch defender of Hidalgo’s protected cycle lanes, Emmanuel Gregoire is expected to accelerate the “15?minute city” and the expansion of the cyclable network, turning his bike ride from the 10th into a policy blueprint. The right must rethink its rallying strategy in the capital, and LFI must redefine its role as a left?wing opposition after being excluded from the governing bloc.
Cycling from his 10th arrondissement flat to the Hôtel de Ville, Emmanuel Gregoire turned a tight, uncertain race into a powerful ecologist statement: he inherits and will expand Anne Hidalgo’s cycle lane legacy, having won the left’s tripartite pact with the Greens and Communists while refusing any alliance with what he calls an “antisemitic” party. With 51?% of the vote, he has secured a four year mandate and confirmed that, despite the new PLM rules and a fierce right wing challenge, the left’s anchor in Paris remains solid. Source: Ministry of Interior, Public Senat, LCP.
Ultimately, these developments raise a simple but pressing question: will those in power rise to their responsibilities, or will they allow short term calculations to outweigh long term cultural, democratic and strategic interests?
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