INFO BFM Paris Île-de-France. The Minister of Culture now shares the head of the group with David Alphand, even though Changer Paris has faced several departures and the creation of two new groups on the right.
The Minister of Culture returns to head her group at the Paris Council. Rachida Dati, mayor of the 7th arrondissement and Minister of Culture, is returning to head the Changer Paris political group on the Paris council, BFM Paris Île-de-France learned from the group. She thus becomes “co-president” with David Alphand following a vote organized this Wednesday, October 2 by the party.
The vote was initially scheduled for last week, but was postponed due to scheduling constraints: the minister received Queen Sonja of Norway at the Orsay Museum for the “Music of Colors” exhibition.
New opposition groups on the right
David Alphand took over as interim president of the group following the departure of Senator Catherine Dumas, who slammed the door of the group last July to join Union Capitale, a new opposition group created for the 2026 municipal elections.
Jean-Baptiste Olivier, who will replace Marie-Claire Carrère-Gee in the Senate – appointed deputy minister responsible for government coordination – becomes deputy vice-president. Anne Biraben, Rudolph Granier and Inès de Raguenel become vice-presidents of the group, Changer Paris tells BFM Paris Île-de-France.
These changes are taking place in a particular context for Rachida Dati’s political group. Between his departure and this return, the group melted, losing many elected officials, in particular due to the creation of two new groups on the right: Demain Paris, formed by the senator and former mayor of the 16th arrondissement Francis Szpiner, on one side , and on the other side, the Union Capitale group formed by Pierre-Yves Bournazel, elected in the 18th, Agnès Evren, the president of the LR federation of Paris and the mayor of the 17th arrondissement Geoffroy Boulard.
“She was always the boss”
With these departures, Changer Paris also lost the title of leading opposition group to Union Capitale. But for the 18 elected officials who remained in the group, Rachida Dati never really part of the group’s management.
“For us, she has always been the boss. She has always remained so,” assures a source within the Changer Paris group. And to explain: “We don’t have the feeling that she has left the business.”
A position which can explain the departure of Catherine Dumas, LR senator from Paris, who became president of the group after the appointment of Rachida Dati to the Ministry of Culture.
“I considered that the exercise conditions were no longer optimal,” she assured BFM Paris Île-de-France in July. “I was elected without the votes of those close to Rachida Dati. I tried to do the job as best as possible but after six months, I realized that it was no longer possible. It is logical that I join this new group,” she added.
This return of Rachida Dati at the head of the group comes less than a week before the next Paris council. It is scheduled to begin Tuesday, October 8 in the afternoon with a communication from Anne Hidalgo on the legacy of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
