Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire won the Paris municipal election runoff on March 22, 2026, with 50.52% of votes against Rachida Dati (41.52%) and Sophia Chikirou (7.96%). An arrondissement analysis reveals a divided capital with minimal shifts, while Dati blames divisions on the right and center for her defeat.
In the second round of the Paris municipal elections on Sunday, March 22, 2026, Emmanuel Grégoire, the 47-year-old Socialist candidate and former first deputy to outgoing mayor Anne Hidalgo, secured victory as the new mayor with 50.52% of the votes, according to Le Figaro. This marked a convincing left-wing hold despite a tight three-way race against Rachida Dati of Les Républicains (41.52%)—who merged her list with Pierre-Yves Bournazel's Horizons-Renaissance and benefited from Sarah Knafo's withdrawal (Reconquête, 10.4% in the first round)—and Sophia Chikirou of La France insoumise (7.96%).
Vote geography underscores a split Paris: Grégoire led in 13 arrondissements (down from 14 in the first round), with the 1st arrondissement (Les Halles, Palais Royal, Place Vendôme) switching to Dati in the runoff. Dati, re-elected mayor of the 7th arrondissement in the first round, dominated western Paris including the 6th, 7th, 8th, 15th, 16th, and 17th. Despite this minor shift, no arrondissements ultimately changed hands in terms of overall territorial balance, which has remained stable since 2001—even after the PLM reform promulgated in summer 2025 (supported by Dati for direct mayoral voting, opposed by Grégoire), granting the Socialists a more comfortable majority.
In an exclusive interview with Le Figaro, defeated candidate Dati called the campaign 'neither clean nor dignified' and attributed her loss to 'deadly' divisions within the center and right, pointing to figures like Bournazel and Gabriel Attal. She highlighted her long-developed transformation project crafted with Paris residents.