The three candidates for the Paris municipal election runoff, Emmanuel Grégoire, Rachida Dati and Sophia Chikirou, clashed in a debate lasting over two and a half hours organized by Le Figaro and BFMTV on March 18, 2026. Discussions covered security, after-school care, housing and personal attacks. With four days until the vote, the race looks tight following post-first-round mergers and withdrawals.
The debate, moderated by Apolline de Malherbe, Arthur Berdah and Bruno Jeudy, pitted Emmanuel Grégoire (PS-PCF-Écologistes, 37.98% in first round), Rachida Dati (LR-MoDem-Horizons-Renaissance, 25.46%) and Sophia Chikirou (LFI) against each other. Grégoire named Dati his 'sole adversary', noting 'differences' with Chikirou, who accused him of insincerity by recalling his past refusals to ally with LFI. Dati criticized local PS-LFI alliances and denied 'backroom' deals with Sarah Knafo, which Grégoire called a 'moral fault'; she urged a 'useful vote' between her and Grégoire. On security, Dati noted delinquency 'at its highest level' and called for more surveillance cameras; Chikirou refused to 'talk in the air' and proposed specialized brigades; Grégoire pointed to precarity as the main cause. Rivals criticized Dati's TikTok videos on homeless camps. A heated exchange addressed supposed 'connivances' between Dati and Chikirou, raised by Grégoire in January on CNews; they accused him of implying their origins 'on the other side of the Mediterranean', seen as a 'slap'; Grégoire apologized for this 'misunderstanding' and cited shared judicial deadlines. On after-school care, marred by scandals, Grégoire promised internal and external controls; Dati spoke of a 'system of predators' involving 50 animators; Chikirou recalled ignored alerts from 2015. Housing discussions were calmer: Grégoire aims for 60,000 public homes; Chikirou wants to freeze rents; Dati to cut property tax and social housing to avoid a 'ghetto city'. On cleanliness, Grégoire called it a matter of 'civism and resources'.
