Paris is about to have its first woman mayor in the city's long history. But the certainty that either socialist Anne Hidalgo or right-wing candidate Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet will take the reins of the French capital after the two rounds of local elections that start this Sunday masks the fact that most French towns and cities will be run by a man whichever of the main parties wins the local vote. An examination of the mayoral election candidates by Mediapart has revealed that the great majority are male, white – and not very young. Lénaïg Bredoux and Ellen Salvi report on the slow progress made by the country's two major mainstream parties in making their politicians more representative of the populace.
The media is constantly speculating about the likelihood of former president Nicolas Sarkozy returning to the political fray and ultimately challenging President François Hollande at the next presidential election. Here academic, author and Mediapart contributor Christian Salmon argues that it has always been apparent that Sarkozy would seek revenge for his defeat at the hands of Hollande in 2012, and that the 'will he, won't he' story of his possible return is simply a marketing ploy to get French public opinion acclimatised to the idea. The real issue in 2014, says Salmon, is how to wean France off its addiction to Sarkozyism before it takes hold of the country once again...
The elimination of the Left in the first round of voting in a recent local by-election in which the Front National came top has sparked fevered speculation about how Marine Le Pen's far-right party is likely to perform in next year's crucial municipal elections. A recently-published and detailed analysis of voting trends suggests the FN could have a major role to play in some areas. But, as Mathieu Magnaudeix reports, the study says the outcome will probably depend on how well the economy performs between now and next spring.
Actionnaires directs et indirects : Société pour l’Indépendance de Mediapart, Fonds pour une Presse Libre, Association pour le droit de savoir
Rédaction et administration : 127 avenue Ledru-Rollin, 75011 Paris
Courriel : contact@mediapart.fr
Téléphone : + 33 (0) 1 44 68 99 08
Propriétaire, éditeur, imprimeur : Société Editrice de Mediapart
Abonnement : pour toute information, question ou conseil, le service abonnés de Mediapart peut être contacté par courriel à l’adresse : serviceabonnement@mediapart.fr ou par courrier à l'adresse : Service abonnés Mediapart, 11 place Charles de Gaulle 86000 Poitiers. Vous pouvez également adresser vos courriers à Société Editrice de Mediapart, 127 avenue Ledru-Rollin, 75011 Paris.
