Overview

• Culture Minister Rachida Dati confirmed she will stay in the race for Paris’s 2nd constituency by-election scheduled for 21 and 28 September.
• Les Républicains have officially backed former prime minister Michel Barnier, and efforts led by the Paris federation to broker a truce did not yield an agreement.
• Dati cast Barnier as "instrumentalised" and urged right and centrist forces to rally behind her, framing the contest as a step toward her 2026 Paris ambitions.
• Barnier has stated he is seeking only the deputy seat and is not a candidate for any other office.
• The vote follows the Constitutional Council’s annulment of Macronist deputy Jean Laussucq’s election for campaign finance irregularities.