Nathalie Koenders: who will she go with?
Unless the situation changes, the new mayor of Dijon Nathalie Koenders (PS) will lead a list in the next municipal elections. Even if “the question does not arise today”, as she affirmed on the evening of her election, ensuring that she was for the moment “at the service of the people of Dijon”. Will his list have the same political color as in 2020, with a majority of representatives from the left and the center? Or will it lean more to the left by bringing together components of the New Popular Front? If this is the case, it will probably be without France Insoumise.
Locally, Génération.s, the party founded by Benoît Hamon, is calling for a rally beyond the NFP. “If we can bring our ecosocialist left voice within a municipal majority that will not understand the extremes, we will do it. Better to bring your little grain of salt rather than being in opposition and abstaining,” declares Antoine Peillon, spokesperson for the Génération.s Dijon Côte-d’Or committee.
On the right, two lists in 2026?
On the right, things are already jostling. François-Xavier Dugourd, the boss of LR in Côte-d’Or, has just launched a large gathering of the right and the center, accompanied by six other elected officials from Dijon (read elsewhere). For his part, Emmanuel Bichot, candidate in 2020 (34.84% of the votes in the second round behind François Rebsamen) has declared for almost two years that he will be running again for 2026, an appointment that he says he is preparing “with serenity and determination.
This time, Emmanuel Bichot is playing the card of his local political party “Agir pour Dijon” to the fullest. “This is our specificity and we fully embrace it,” he says. “Discussions about political combinations do not interest us that much. We are doing real in-depth work across the city. A course has been set, without the slightest compromise with the current majority. » And added: “We will hold a large gathering of Dijonnais, undoubtedly with a diverse right-wing political positioning. »
The National Rally “not closed to an alliance”
The National Rally perceives the next municipal elections in Dijon as an “unmissable event”. In 2020, the flame party did not obtain any elected representatives, failing in the first round (6.74%, 5e position). This time, the departmental delegate René Lioret hopes that it will be different. “Our idea is to present a list,” says the MP. Who adds, however: “We are not closed to an alliance. But if it happens, it will be based on a convergence of programs and a real project. »
Insoumise France wants to be “a disruptive force”
While La France insoumise has few local elected officials, it wants, for its tenth anniversary, to change the situation during the 2026 municipal elections. “LFI will be involved. We are developing a local program with citizens and anyone who would like it. We have not tried to contact anyone for the moment, but we will see with the other forces of the NFP if there is a possibility of doing something together. We are a disruptive force, our desire is not to work in the line of Rebsamen and Koenders,” summarizes Dominique Guidoni-Stoltz, one of LFI’s co-referents in Côte-d’Or.
The Greens will be present, but in what configuration?
Will the Greens present their list as in 2020? Will they prefer an alliance with the outgoing majority that half of their six elected officials joined during their mandate, or even appear on an NFP type list? “We will be present at the municipal elections to represent ecology, that’s for sure. Depending on which configuration, we do not yet know,” declares Olivier Muller, one of the three elected opposition environmentalists on the municipal council. “For the moment, we are working on developing a program by consulting the population. We will then discuss the strategy to adopt with members and activists, then it will be decided by the local group in Dijon. »
Renaissance wishes “rather to find an agreement”
On the side of Renaissance, Didier Martin indicates that a “reflection” has already begun with the activists of the presidential party. “We will be present in the municipal elections,” assures the former deputy for the first constituency of the Côte d’Or. “The idea is not to propose a strictly Renaissance list, but rather to find an agreement with other political groups on a common line. There are alliances at the national level, we belong to the central bloc. But we forbid ourselves nothing and we will not deprive ourselves of any strength. “.
