Gabriel Attal would make a good mayor of the capital for 42% of Parisians, just ahead of Rachida Dati

Is the announced clash between Rachida Dati and Anne Hidaldo assured in Paris during the next municipal elections in 2026? Nothing is less certain. If the mayor of the 7th arrondissement of the capital and councilor Anne Hidalgo stage their duel in the media, particularly during Paris Council meetings, another personality could invite himself into the battle for City Hall. According to an Ipsos survey for The Parisian published on Sunday, former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal would make a good mayor of Paris for 42% of citizens. A first place that he occupies very narrowly ahead of his former government colleague Rachida Dati, estimated at 39%. This local match, which seems to be taking shape within the national “common base” – between the right and the presidential camp -, distances Anne Hidalgo (28%) by around ten points. And even crushes all other competition.

While the elected socialist still hesitates to run again in a few months, her two potential competitors have the advantage of generating less rejection than her among the people concerned: 63% for Anne Hidalgo against 50% for Rachida Dati, and 47% for Gabriel Attal. A sign of his political strength in Paris, the deputy for Hauts-de-Seine and president of the Ensemble pour la République (EPR) group in the National Assembly appeals to both voters in his camp (72%) and those on the right ( 46%). Where the Minister of Culture is struggling to broaden her base on the left (22%), Elisabeth Borne's successor in Matignon captures a larger portion of supporters (30%) in support of the outgoing majority in Paris.

Hidalgo's record judged negatively

Another important point of the survey: ten months after her arrival in government, Rachida Dati is less appreciated in her former political family, Les Républicains (58%), than in the presidential party Renaissance (61%). Enough to delight the town hall? Everything will depend on the choice of Gabriel Attal. Will he put aside his presidential ambitions in 2027 to focus on Paris? If this is the case, the former Minister of Justice has some concerns in its conquest. In the opposite hypothesis, she remains best placed against Anne Hidalgo, whose results are judged negatively by 54% of respondents.