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3w ago

Barnier Clarifies No Mayoral Ambitions as LR Prepares to Weigh Paris By-Election Bid

Michel Barnier aims to calm intra-party tensions with Rachida Dati before the July 28 investiture vote.

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L’ancien premier ministre Michel Barnier veut calmer le jeu avec Rachida Dati.
Rachida Dati et Michel Barnier, à Paris, le 3 avril 2022.
Michel Barnier lors du lancement du COJOP Alpes françaises 2030 au Groupama stadium à Lyon, le 18 février 2025.

Overview

  • Barnier sent a letter to Les Républicains members in Paris pledging exclusive commitment to the National Assembly seat and denying any 2026 mayoral ambitions.
  • His candidacy follows the Conseil constitutionnel’s July 11 invalidation of Jean Laussucq’s mandate and requires formal ratification by the LR investiture commission on July 28.
  • Rachida Dati, Culture Minister and mayor of Paris’s 7th arrondissement, has also declared her intention to run in the legislative by-election.
  • The contest has exposed divisions between LR president Bruno Retailleau, who backs Barnier, and Assembly group leader Laurent Wauquiez, allied with Dati’s camp.
  • The by-election must be held by mid-October and is viewed as a barometer for centre-right cohesion ahead of Paris’s 2026 municipal and France’s 2027 presidential elections.