Senator Catherine Dumas replaces Rachida Dati, appointed Minister of Culture, at the head of the LR and related group of the Council of Paris, after a vote in which she remained the only candidate, her competitor having withdrawn. Tuesday evening, elected officials from the Changer Paris group validated the candidacy of Catherine Dumas as new president after the resignation of the minister, who however confirmed her intention to run for mayor of Paris in 2026.
A nomination, a symbol of “hope for Paris”
Out of 53 registered, 42 voted for this elected official from the 17th arrondissement, indicated two internal sources at AFP. Nine blank or invalid votes were counted. Two hours before the vote, Jean-Pierre Lecoq, the LR mayor of the 6th arrondissement, announced in a press release the withdrawal of his candidacy, saying he favored “unity”. The elected official appeared to be the candidate closest to Rachida Dati for having supported her on the evening of her entry into government, despite her exclusion from the Republicans.
This appointment represents “hope for Paris”, he then declared, outlining the possibility of an alliance between the right and the Macronists with a view to the municipal elections. But the other heavyweights of the Parisian right took the side of Catherine Dumas, first vice-president of the group. Sunday, Rachida Dati proposed a “consensual solution” to the elected officials, saying she supported “the candidacy of Catherine Dumas for the presidency”, but also that of “Jean-Pierre Lecoq for the 1st vice-presidency”, and announcing hers “to a vice-presidency.
This proposal sparked an immediate reaction from the four Parisian senators, including Catherine Dumas, and other district mayors, recalling that “the agenda of this general assembly” provided “exclusively for the election of the new president or the new president”. For a source close to the group, Rachida Dati committed a “clumsiness” which particularly “annoyed some who criticize her for being in the government” and “say that they can be candidates in 2026”.
While Rachida Dati announced her intention to run for mayor despite her exclusion from the party, “The Republicans of Paris will obviously be there in the municipal election in 2026,” said Senator Agnès Evren, president of the federation, on Tuesday. LR from Paris, in a press release sent to AFP. “Our path is that of the Republicans,” adds Agnès Evren. “It is around her that we will gather, that we will expand our base, when the time comes, to reconquer Paris.”