Overview

• The two-round vote is scheduled for September 21 and 28 in Paris’s 2nd constituency covering the 5th, 6th and 7th arrondissements.
• Les Républicains formally invested former prime minister Michel Barnier, who has stated he seeks only the deputy seat.
• Rachida Dati says Barnier is being instrumentalized and urges right and center forces to rally behind her project to “win Paris.”
• The by-election follows the Constitutional Council’s annulment of deputy Jean Laussucq’s 2024 result over campaign finance irregularities.
• Dati has been referred to trial on corruption and influence-peddling charges tied to about €900,000 in alleged consultancy fees, has appealed, and faces a September 29 hearing to set the trial date.