Overview

• Les Républicains’ national investiture commission formally designated Michel Barnier as its candidate for the 2nd constituency by-election in Paris.
• Rachida Dati confirmed she will run as a dissident candidate despite the party’s endorsement of Barnier.
• Party president Bruno Retailleau brokered a meeting between Barnier and Dati this week in hopes of preventing a fratricidal contest.
• The by-election must take place by early October following the Constitutional Council’s annulment of Jean Laussucq’s mandate.
• The contest in the affluent 5th, 6th and 7th arrondissements carries weight for LR’s unity ahead of the 2026 Paris mayoral race and the 2027 presidential elections.