WORLD

Macron party picks loyalist to run for Paris mayor next year

11/07/2019 07:39 AM

PARIS, July 11 (dpa) -- French President Emmanuel Macron's centrist party Wednesday picked a long-standing Macron loyalist to run for mayor of Paris in local elections next year.

Benjamin Griveaux, 41, beat prominent mathematician Cedric Villani for the nomination to take on Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo, 60, who plans to seek a second term.

Villani accepted defeat before the executive bureau of La Republique en Marche (The Republic on the Move, LREM) announced its decision, saying the choice of Griveaux had been "known long in advance."

The presidential party's nomination process has been criticized as undemocratic, as ordinary members have no role in selecting mayoral candidates.

Griveaux, who served as minister and government spokesman until resigning to seek the mayoral nomination, called for a "dignified campaign, without any personal attacks or gutter talk."

Macron's party, formed in 2016, will be contesting its first local elections in 2020. Local mayoral positions are a key building block for French political parties.

Hidalgo is the most prominent remaining Socialist Party office-holder in France. The party of Macron's predecessor, Francois Hollande, has had a string of disastrous results including losing all but 30 of its 280 seats in the 2017 parliamentary elections.

-- DPA

 


BERNAMA provides up-to-date authentic and comprehensive news and information which are disseminated via BERNAMA Wires; www.bernama.com; BERNAMA TV on Astro 502, unifi TV 631 and MYTV 121 channels and BERNAMA Radio on FM93.9 (Klang Valley), FM107.5 (Johor Bahru), FM107.9 (Kota Kinabalu) and FM100.9 (Kuching) frequencies.

Follow us on social media :
Facebook : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatv, @bernamaradio
Twitter : @bernama.com, @BernamaTV, @bernamaradio
Instagram : @bernamaofficial, @bernamatvofficial, @bernamaradioofficial
TikTok : @bernamaofficial

© 2025 BERNAMA   • Disclaimer   • Privacy Policy   • Security Policy