Paris frontrunner bets on ‘new left wave’ sweeping big cities
Emmanuel Grégoire wants to extend 25 years of Socialist rule in the French capital
A “new left wave” is rising in Paris and other large cities such as New York as mayors pursue progressive policies to counter far-right populists, says Emmanuel Grégoire, the Socialist frontrunner for mayor of the French capital.
“The global left is reinventing itself in big urban ecosystems,” Grégoire told the FT. Cities from London to Berlin and from New York to San Francisco faced similar challenges and could learn from one another, he said.
“At a time when the darker winds of history are blowing in many countries with the rise of the far right, big cities are territories of resistance.”
If elected, Grégoire said his mission would be to “protect liberty” in Paris and prove that an alternative brand of politics could successfully counter the rise of the far-right Rassemblement National (RN) in France.
The two-round municipal elections on March 15 and 22 are the last electoral test before next year’s presidential vote, when Emmanuel Macron cannot stand again and RN party leader Jordan Bardella is polling ahead of other contenders.
Grégoire pointed to last year’s election of Zohran Mamdani, a self-described Democratic Socialist, as mayor of New York City as a sign that urban voters were eager to back bold leftwing ideas. Mamdani’s proposals — rent freezes, free buses and a higher minimum wage paid by a new tax on those earning more than $1mn — aimed to ensure that New York City did not become a place only for the wealthy.
Such cost of living issues also plague Paris, so Gregoire wants to pour billions into expanding social housing, strictly limit tourist rentals such as Airbnb and curb real estate speculation. “Places like New York and Paris are really excellent laboratories” to prove leftwing policy solutions were effective, he said.
Beyond policies, however, Gregoire argued that the role of global capitals was also to provide a counter-argument to the far right’s xenophobia by showing that diversity and multiculturalism were a strength, not a weakness.
Just as Mamdani was a “very strong counterpoint” to President Donald Trump in the US, the next mayor of Paris may also face a far-right president if the RN triumphs in the race for the Élysée next year.
“A quarter of Parisians weren’t born in France. One in two has immigrant roots,” Grégoire said. “There are difficulties in all big cities. But I believe Paris is a place where we can live well together.”
A longtime right-hand man to outgoing mayor Anne Hidalgo, Grégoire hopes to extend 25 years of Socialist leadership during which Paris has become a reference point for green policy, including pushing out cars, promoting cycling and cutting pollution.
But the capital has also accumulated large debt linked to an ambitious programme to expand social housing. Meanwhile, staffing at city hall has drawn criticism, with the city’s 55,000 employees falling short of working the minimum 35 hours a week.
Currently a Socialist MP, Grégoire says he wants to manage the city more efficiently and cut its debt. But he largely promises continuity, promising to press on with priorities such as subsidising home renovations and cutting carbon emissions.
Running in an alliance with Greens and Communists, Grégoire is polling ahead of his main rival, the rightwing former culture minister Rachida Dati.
But a crowded field means that there could be up to five candidates making it into the run-off. The winner may depend on alliances struck between the two rounds.
Gregoire also faces a far-left challenger from the La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) party, which could hurt his chances by splitting the leftist vote. On the other side of the spectrum, the unexpectedly strong showing from far-right newcomer Sarah Knafo is also intensifying the competition.
A member of the European parliament with the Reconquête party founded by polemicist Éric Zemmour, Knafo has surged to about 12 per cent in polls for the first round. The RN’s candidate Thierry Mariani is on 4 per cent, which combined represents a strong showing for the far right in Paris where it has traditionally been weak.
“The far right has never been as strong as it is today in Paris, but it’s still much weaker here than in the rest of the country,” said Grégoire. “We have powerful antibodies here against their ideology.”