RN president Jordan Bardella urged Parisian voters on Tuesday evening to block the left and far-left by voting for Rachida Dati in the municipal runoff. He said he would personally vote for the LR-MoDem candidate if registered in Paris. This comes after Sarah Knafo's withdrawal and the merger with Pierre-Yves Bournazel.
In an interview on TF1 on March 17, 2026, Jordan Bardella, president of the Rassemblement National (RN), called on Parisian voters to 'make a barrage' against 'the left and the far-left' by supporting Rachida Dati's LR-MoDem list, which came second in the first round with 25.46% of votes (207,613 ballots). Emmanuel Grégoire, from the united left excluding LFI, leads with 37.98% (309,693 votes), followed by Sophia Chikirou (LFI, 11.72%). 'If I were a voter in Paris, I would vote personally for Rachida Dati,' Bardella stated, contrasting 'lists attached to order and republican values' with those 'dominated by the far-left' in cities where RN is not qualified, like Paris. He hailed an 'historic breakthrough' for RN, with nearly 1,300 municipal councilors elected and almost all outgoing RN mayors reelected. Dati's position strengthened with Sarah Knafo's withdrawal (Reconquête, 10.4%), who stepped aside 'to beat the left,' and the merger with Pierre-Yves Bournazel's list (Horizons-Renaissance, 11.34%), though he personally withdrew. Marlène Schiappa announced joining Dati's campaign. A debate between Grégoire and Dati is set for Wednesday, March 18 at 9 p.m. on BFMTV and Le Figaro TV, hosted by Apolline de Malherbe and Arthur Berdah, covering security, daily life, and Paris's future. Bruno Retailleau (LR) praised Knafo's withdrawal as 'wise and responsible.'
