Tuesday 24 Mar 2026
Gregoire pledged to stand up to the right and far right in the run-up to the 2027 polls. (Photo/Reuters)
Emmanuel Gregoire has emerged victorious in the Paris mayoral election, decisively defeating conservative rival Rachida Dati. Representing the Socialist Party, Gregoire, a former deputy to the outgoing mayor, secured a fifth consecutive term for his party in the French capital. In his victory speech, Gregoire positioned Paris as a central pillar of resistance against right-wing and far-right alliances. The election results, which saw an underperformance by both the far-right and the hard-left, provide key insights into the national political landscape ahead of the 2027 presidential elections to choose a successor to Emmanuel Macron.
Socialist party candidate Emmanuel Gregoire easily beat conservative former minister Rachida Dati in Paris's mayoral race, two exit polls showed.
Most of France's almost 35,000 villages, towns and boroughs elected municipal leaders in a first round last weekend, but the races went to run-offs in about 1,500 communes, including bigger urban centres.
In Paris, Gregoire — a 48-year-old former deputy of the outgoing Socialist mayor — beat right-wing ex-minister Dati, a protegee of now-convicted ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy.
Gregoire hopped on one of the city's iconic rental bikes to head to city hall after the exit polls were released, an AFP journalist said.
"Paris has decided to stay true to its history," a beaming Gregoire told a cheering crowd, as he won a fifth consecutive term for the Socialists in the city of two million people.
He pledged to stand up to the right and far right in the run-up to the 2027 polls.
"Paris will be the heart of the resistance against this alliance of the right, which seeks to take away what we hold most precious and fragile: the simple joy of living together," he said.
The far right and hard left did less well than they hoped in the second round of the elections, which were being closely watched for clues before presidential polls next year to choose a successor to centrist leader Emmanuel Macron.
The far right sees its best chance yet at seizing power in 2027, but did not look set for an emphatic showing in the local polls.
___
Source: TRT
