Emmanuel Grégoire holds up the key to Paris City Hall during his victory speech on Place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville – Esplanade de la Libération on March 22, 2026. CYRIL BITTON/DIVERGENCE FOR LE MONDE
Standing at the top of the steps of the Rotonde Stalingrad in the 19th arrondissement, Bertrand Delanoë, the Socialist mayor of Paris from 2001 to 2014, took a drag from his cigarette and gazed at the crowd gathered before him, his eyes red. It was not even 9 pm on Sunday, March 22, and supporters of Emmanuel Grégoire, the candidate of the left-wing alliance (excluding La France Insoumise, LFI, radical left) for Paris City Hall, were jubilant. Giant screens flashed Grégoire's name, showing an overwhelming and insurmountable lead over his challenger from Les Républicains (LR, right), Rachida Dati.
He would go on to win the Paris mayoral race with 50.52% of the vote, and beyond the numbers, this marked the left's greatest victory in Paris since 2001.
Delanoë had reason to be moved – "and happy!" Those were the only words he shared with the press. That evening, his former chief of staff was cheered by his supporters and running mates, dancing, singing and barely believing the margin that separated him from Dati, the former minister of culture.
