In Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire promises to be a "hyper-local" mayor, "different" from Anne Hidalgo

"I will be a different kind of mayor, there are many new expectations and I will carry out these new priorities with my own energy and style," said the man who was for six years the first deputy to the outgoing socialist mayor, during the presentation of his program to the press.

Even though he says he has "only wonderful memories" of his time at City Hall, the current Socialist MP "accepts a break with the past" with Anne Hidalgo. Relations have become strained between the outgoing mayor and her former protégé, whom she only supported belatedly and without real enthusiasm.

The candidate of this non-Mélenchonist left-wing coalition (ecologists, communists, Place Publique and ex-Insoumis from L'Après) promises "hyper-proximity", "availability" and "constant listening" if he is elected in March.

He wants to "significantly" strengthen the powers of borough mayors in order to "reorganize the entire public service at the neighborhood level." He contrasts this approach with the new voting system in place in Paris, Lyon, and Marseille, which would allow the mayor to be elected directly, bypassing the borough mayors.

"No major decision will be made without the Parisians," he assured, mentioning in particular the organization of referendums, like those already put in place under Anne Hidalgo.

In each town hall, a single physical counter will be set up to support administrative procedures, with "extended hours" which will also apply to libraries and gymnasiums.

To combat medical deserts, he plans to "network all neighborhoods with health centers and sector 1 practices".

The candidate also announced the deployment of a thousand additional pedestrian streets in the capital, specifying that he will detail his ecological program next week.

"Our foundation is the right to live in Paris," summarized the 48-year-old mayoral candidate, originally from Seine-Saint-Denis, who has long perceived the capital as a "promise of social advancement."

Housing will be the "first battle," he insisted. He reiterated his goal of building 60.000 social and affordable housing units, with a "rebalancing towards the west," as well as 4.000 emergency shelter spaces so that "zero children" sleep on the streets next winter.

Paris must remain a refuge for the enemies of the extreme right and reactionaries.

"Paris must remain a model of diversity, it belongs neither to speculators nor to the richest," he declared against his right-wing opponents, Rachida Dati, the LR and MoDem candidate, as well as Sarah Knafo (Reconquête).

"Rachida Dati and Sarah Knafo are two sides of the same coin who want to sell Paris to the highest bidders, where the only law that matters is that of the market," according to Emmanuel Grégoire.

He fears in particular that "the work of the 71.000 associations that help the most vulnerable, and are an invisible structure of our public action", will be "sold off" in the event of a victory for Rachida Dati.

"Paris has always been a refuge for the enemies of the extreme and reactionary right, and will remain so. I will be its guarantor and bulwark," he continued.

On the financial front, the Socialist mayor intends to "maintain a sustained investment effort, around €1,5 to €1,6 billion per year." He also promises "not to continue indebting the city at the rate of recent years, while maintaining the debt repayment capacity to last 12 years by the end of his term." The capital's debt currently stands at €9,4 billion and could climb to €9,7 billion by the end of 2026.

Emmanuel Grégoire also pledges not to raise property tax, which has already increased by 52% under Anne Hidalgo's term.

According to a Cluster 17 poll for Politico published on Monday, her list would receive 33% of the votes cast, widening the gap with Rachida Dati, credited with 26% of voting intentions.

Finally, if the Minister of Culture refused to debate with her opponents in the first round, "it was out of fear, because she is the least equipped on the subjects among the candidates," the socialist concluded.

Distancing oneself from Hidalgo's disastrous record

This desire for a break is also explained by the disastrous record of the Hidalgo team after more than ten years at the head of the capital, of which Emmanuel Grégoire was the first deputy from 2018 to 2024.

The desire to make people forget his participation in this municipal team and his responsibility in this debacle is essential to hoping to win.

Record debt, soaring local taxes, a housing policy unable to curb soaring prices, a proliferation of permanent construction sites and a feeling of a city that has become dirtier, far more dangerous, difficult to live in and less accessible: the term of office leaves behind a profound exasperation.

The urban transformations imposed without real consensus, particularly regarding traffic, have accentuated the divide between City Hall and a portion of Parisians, many of whom denounce an ideological management disconnected from daily realities.

Many also criticize the municipality for having spent hundreds of millions of euros on developments deemed unnecessary, or even disfiguring, giving the impression of having transformed the beautiful into the ugly at the cost of a massive waste of public money.