Right-wing candidates unite to try to break Socialists’ 25-year grip on Paris

PARIS — Two candidates from the center-right and conservative camps on Monday teamed up for the second round of the mayoral election in Paris to try to break the Socialists’ quarter-century grip on the city. After the first round on Sunday, the Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire looked on track for victory, winning 38 percent of votes. He is, however, facing a runoff battle on March 22 that could feature as many as four other candidates who passed the 10 percent threshold. Grégoire was well ahead of the conservative former Culture Minister Rachida Dati, who scored 25.5 percent, and the center-right candidate Pierre‑Yves Bournazel, who netted 11.3 percent, but they are now joining forces in a bid to close the gap in round two. “We have decided to merge our lists because a majority of Parisians want change,” Bournazel said in an interview with French public television Monday. Bournazel also announced that he was withdrawing from Parisian politics, and would not be included on the alliance list or sit on the next city council. Grégoire’s position is complicated by political divisions on the left. Hard-left candidate for Paris mayor Sophia Chikirou said Monday she would not withdraw after Grégoire declined her offer to merge their lists in the second round. Grégoire said he was “not really surprised” by the alliance between Bournazel and Dati, which he believed “won’t stop” his camp from winning. Just two weeks ago, Bournazel formally ruled out working with Dati between the two rounds. He started to shift his stance after the first round results, but imposed the condition that Dati should reject any alliance with the far-right candidate Sarah Knafo, who also made the runoff. Dati’s team promptly acceded to that condition. It is not clear whether Knafo intends to stay in the race. If she does pull out, it would be likely to further mobilize voters in Dati’s favor.