In his first major campaign rally on January 14, 2026, Emmanuel Grégoire, head of a left-wing union list in Paris, sharply criticized his rival Rachida Dati, accusing her of wanting to turn the capital into a « facho lab ». Earlier that day, outgoing mayor Anne Hidalgo defended her record without mentioning her former first deputy, stressing that Paris must remain a left-wing city.
On January 14, 2026, two months before the first round of municipal elections on March 15 and 22, the Paris campaign gained momentum with two key events. In the morning, at City Hall, outgoing mayor Anne Hidalgo, who is not running again, presented her final wishes. She defended her record without mentioning Emmanuel Grégoire, her former first deputy with whom she is on bad terms, even once. « What is at stake is not an alternation or succession, it is first a vision of Paris », she stated. « I trust the Parisian women and men: their demands, their lucidity, and their attachment to this particular city », added the mayor. In an impromptu press point, she reaffirmed that « Paris must remain a left-wing city, a progressive city ».
That evening, Emmanuel Grégoire held his first major rally at La Bellevilloise in the 20th arrondissement. With the hall full, he began his speech on the sidewalk with a megaphone: « We are a bit victims of our success. We will take a huge hall next time ». Leading a left-wing union list excluding La France insoumise (LFI), invested since June 30, 2025, Grégoire multiplied attacks on Rachida Dati, the Les Républicains candidate. He accuses her of drifting toward the far right, claiming to demonstrate that his rival wants to turn Paris into a « facho lab ». « They are outrage, we are competence », he declared before an enthusiastic crowd.
In a context of tight polls, where Grégoire remains neck-and-neck with Dati – unlike Hidalgo's lead in 2020 –, this rally aims to create momentum. Declared candidate for nearly six years, the socialist seeks to solidify his unprecedented union with ecologists and other left-wing forces to counter the right.
