Two months ago, the battle for the town hall of Paris was opposed to a medical cease-fire. While everyone is watching for the announcement of the date for the organization of the second round of the municipal elections, postponed to March, some are winding up their weapons, while others have already resumed hostilities. Review of the forces involved.
Does Anne Hidalgo have a boulevard in front of her?
Let it be said, "Anne Hidalgo is not in the countryside". Neither the outgoing mayor (PS) of Paris, who led the first round with 29.3%, nor his running mates have any visible electoral activity. "Elected officials are monopolized by the coronavirus", says the assistant (PCF) at Housing Ian Brossat. The municipal majority is rather calm, convinced that the management of the epidemic favors outgoing mayors. "A fortiori if the second round takes place in June". But Rémi Féraud, president of the PS group at the Council of Paris, remains cautious: “We will not restart the campaign, nor engage in discussions with environmentalists before knowing what will be the date chosen for the second round. "This does not prevent us from thinking about the subjects on which it will be necessary to insist in the light of the crisis: mobility, solidarity, economic development, culture, citizenship ... As for the adversaries, Féraud already machine-guns them:" Dati has a speech too virulent to be convincing and LREM has only the choice between bad solutions, with or without Buzyn. "
What does Rachida Dati play?
She was totally absent at the start of the crisis, but it has been almost two weeks since Rachida Dati embarked on a media marathon. Tribunes, interviews, with a single target: Anne Hidalgo and her management of the crisis in Paris. "She feels that the second round is going to be in June, so she's going for it now and she's hitting on Hidalgo," deciphers a Parisian elected official who knows her well. “Time is becoming political again, especially since Hidalgo is doing big bullshit. Rachida is political to the tips of the nails. Nature is taking back its rights… ”, we observe at LR management. The former Keeper of the Seals also hopes to enjoy a duel with the outgoing mayor, while LR arrived before LREM in Paris (22.72%, against 17.26%). "Agnès Buzyn's crash repolarized the campaign," wants to believe Agnès Evren, head of the LR federation in Paris, convinced that Dati can "capture anti-Hidalgo voices" in the second round. Those around him assure that she is ready to rally to beat the mayor PS. Will this be enough? An elected LR, skeptical: “Even if we take the En Marche vote, it will not do. His only chance is to replay the two rounds in September ”.
Is Agnes Buzyn still a candidate?
Disappeared from radar screens the day after the first round and her shattering confidences in the World (she called the ballot a "masquerade"), Agnès Buzyn resumed speaking with her teams for a few weeks. How to re-weld the troops with a view to a second round in June? Within LREM, however, many question his ability and his desire to continue a fight which promises to be lost in advance after his disappointing third place on March 15. "She is determined, she will assume until the end," asserts one of his running mate. “His candidacy is absolutely not questioned. She is and she will remain our candidate in Paris ”, says Stanislas Guerini, the delegate general of the Republic on the march. "When the election campaign resumes, she will resume her candidate clothes, I have no doubt about it," he continues. In recent days, rumors have rumored about the possibility that Guerini takes over. He categorically denies: “These rumors obviously do not come from me. I am number two on the list in the 17th arrondissement, I do not intend to change position. "
Another LREM candidate in the event of a vote in September?
The game will be different if the ballot is replayed at the start of the school year, with the obligation to repeat the two rounds. "If Buzyn wants to finish the job in June, I'm not sure she wants to leave for a new full fight in September," said a Parisian deputy of En Marche. And opinions diverge on the strategy to adopt in case of withdrawal of the former Minister of Health. Some, from the left wing, ask the question of a rapprochement with Anne Hidalgo: “The result of March 15 proves that it is mission impossible for us. Wouldn't a good agreement be better than a big defeat? », One wonders. Especially since appointing a new candidate is far from unanimous internally: "After swearing a hand to the heart that they have always dreamed of seeing Buzyn mayor of Paris, the same - who said before that (Benjamin) Griveaux was the mayor we need - would we be ready to choose a third thief? By dint of losing a candidate at each stage, it is no longer an election, but a game of musical chairs! Chokes a parliamentarian.
What will Cédric Villani do?
Disappointing with its 7.88% in the first round, the mathematician did not say his last word. Behind the scenes, Cédric Villani maintains his networks with the macronie, although excluded from the movement after his dissidence. "But he remains in a constructive and benevolent approach," assures one of his relatives, even hinting at possible rapprochements. “We don't exclude anything. Everything will also depend on what will happen in the coming weeks within LREM and the executive ”, we insist… leaving open the idea of a possible entry into the government of Cédric Villani in the event of a reshuffle .
