With just over a year to go until the 2026 Paris mayor elections, the list of candidates is already extensive. Even before Anne Hidalgo announced her decision to not seek a third term in an interview with Le Monde on Tuesday, November 26, the number of potential candidates has multiplied in recent weeks, on both left and right.
Among the Socialists, Senator Rémi Féraud, who is also president of the Paris en Commun group (which brings together Socialists and left-wing independents) on the Paris Council, is the candidate now officially endorsed by Hidalgo. Féraud, a former mayor of Paris' 10th arrondissement and long-time loyalist of the outgoing mayor, announced on November 11 that he was "preparing" to run as a mayoral candidate for the left. For a long time, Emmanuel Grégoire, as first deputy, was seen as the potential successor, until he left City Hall to be elected to the Assemblée Nationale in the legislative elections of June 30 and July 7.
"More determined than ever" to claim the mayoral seat amid his ongoing clash with the Hidalgo, Grégoire announced on November 19 that he wanted to "carry a new story for Paris, a new proposal, a new project." He already has the support of 450 Socialists in the Paris federation (out of 3,000). He is due to kick off his campaign at a rally on Tuesday.
The two Socialists will have to contend with Ian Brossat, the senator and co-chairman of the Communists group on the Paris Council. A few days after Grégoire's announcement, Brossat made it known that he was also "available" and ready to take part in a possible primary if Hidalgo does not run. On the side of the Greens, who are also part of Hidalgo's municipal majority, no one has yet announced their candidacy. However, the party's Parisian activists have ruled out, for the first time, the principle of an independent candidacy. Despite this, Paris Senator Yannick Jadot and Deputy Mayor David Belliard, who ran in 2020, could be tempted, believing the time is right for the Greens to claim the top position at City Hall.
For the radical-left La France Insoumise party, with whom the Socialists and Communists refuse to associate, there is no known candidate yet. The possibility of Sophia Chikirou, MP for Paris's 6th constituency, running for mayor remains purely speculative at this stage.
The opposition contenders are no less numerous. Culture Minister Rachida Dati, who is also the mayor of Paris's 7th arrondissement and ran in 2020 as a candidate, has always been vocal about her intentions and said back in January that Paris remained her "objective." Will she be supported by the presidential camp? Sylvain Maillard, leader of the presidential camp's Paris group, said on November 22, that "she could be a very good candidate," while clarifying that the choice of his group's candidate would only be revealed in the "first quarter of 2025." Former prime minister Gabriel Attal is also mentioned, although he has yet to confirm any intentions to run.
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