Rachida Dati at a campaign rally in Paris, March 12, 2026. BENJAMIN GIRETTE FOR LE MONDE
Just minutes before the announcement of the initial estimations for the first round of the Paris municipal elections on Sunday, March 15, Saïd Benmouffok was still deep in calculations, weighing the left's unity against the right's divisions. The leader of Place Publique in the capital, a member of the left-wing coalition led by Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire, laid out his arithmetic reasoning: "What matters is the gap between us and Rachida Dati [Les Républicains, LR]. If Pierre-Yves Bournazel [Horizons, center-right] performs below poll expectations, it means he's already lost those who absolutely want a change in power, and the rest of his electorate is moderate and could partly back us in the second round. Among the electorate of Sophia Chikirou [La France Insoumise, radical left], even if she stays in the second round, there will, in any case, be votes switching to Grégoire as a tactical vote. If we finish the first round at least five points ahead of Dati, we're in a comfortable position," he said.
The results exceeded his hopes. With 38.04%, Grégoire finished far ahead of Dati, his main challenger (25.41%). In a tight race, the next three candidates just surpassed the 10% threshold needed to advance to the second round: 11.74% for Chikirou, 11.33% for Bournazel and 10.38% for Sarah Knafo (Reconquête!, far right). Asked about these initial numbers, Benmouffok paused for a few seconds, smiled and chose an understatement: "Let's say it's an encouraging scenario..."
