Pierre-Yves Bournazel at his rally launching his campaign for Paris City Hall, at the Trianon, on June 3, 2025. EMMA DA SILVA / AFP
Five months ahead of France's municipal elections, the political tectonics of Paris's center-right bloc have begun to settle. After Pierre-Yves Bournazel was nominated by former prime minister Edouard Philippe's party, Horizons (center-right), in early June, and Culture Minister Rachida Dati by Les Républicains (LR, right) at the end of August, President Emmanuel Macron's party, Renaissance (center), was also expected to make its position known within about 10 days. Three options were on the table: backing either of the above candidates, or running its own candidate.
At this stage, the most likely outcome seems to be an alliance with Bournazel, a moderate center-right candidate who has served on the Paris city council since 2008, and who was a member of LR until 2017, before joining Macron and serving as MP from 2017 to 2022. "We are very much aligned with Pierre-Yves Bournazel's platform," said Franck Riester, Renaissance's deputy general secretary for elections, who co-founded a micro-party with Bournazel that has since merged with Renaissance. While he did not reveal the position Renaissance's national committee would take, Riester did not conceal his personal preference: "It is clear today that voters need and aspire to calm. From that perspective, Pierre-Yves is less divisive."
