French President Emmanuel Macron, on the sidelines of a European Council meeting in Brussels, on March 19, 2026. JEANNE ACCORSINI/SIPA FOR LE MONDE
Rarely has a path to victory ever been so clear. In theory, Rachida Dati, the Paris mayoral election candidate endorsed by the right-wing Les Républicains (LR) and the centrist bloc, is in the most favorable position to win against Emmanuel Grégoire, the Socialist candidate at the head of a left-wing coalition, on March 22. To his left, Grégoire, the former first deputy mayor to outgoing mayor Anne Hidalgo, faces competition from the radical La France Insoumise's candidate, Sophia Chikirou, who stayed in the race after the March 15 first round. Meanwhile, on the far right, Sarah Knafo, who had qualified for the runoff, withdrew. And center-right Pierre-Yves Bournazel quit the race after announcing that his candidate list would fuse with Dati's. "If with that, she loses..." said a former Macronist minister, trailing off.
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Paris mayoral election: Three candidates head to second round following Knafo's withdrawal
Was Grégoire, three days before the second round, afraid that victory might be snatched from him? On the morning of Thursday, March 19, speaking on Franceinfo, the usually courteous Socialist made grave allegations against the president: "Emmanuel Macron personally intervened to ensure that the far right withdrew in favor of his candidate," he said. "He intervened at various levels to help secure the withdrawal of Sarah Knafo, through intermediaries, through people who have historically supported Reconquête," Knafo's far-right party.
