Fight for Paris mayor boils down to two women

In the overwhelmingly male world of French politics, the contest for Paris's mayor has come down to a fight between two contrasting women.

In one corner stands Anne Hidalgo, the Socialist daughter of working-class Spanish immigrants. Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, who is known as NKM, a youthful conservative with aristocratic roots, and a burning ambition to become president one day, stands in the other.

The prize for whoever wins the closely fought election is the title of Paris's first female leader.

But the outcome could also have an impact on the wider fortunes of France's political parties. Overturning the city's Socialist administration would be a huge boost for the opposition centre-right UMP - and for Nicolas Sarkozy, France's former leader who is keeping one eye on the 2017 presidential contest.

By contrast, a Socialist win would go some way to masking what opinion polls suggest will be significant losses elsewhere for the party of President Francois Hollande at a time when his popularity is at the lowest point of any French leader in modern history.

"France is a highly centralised country so everyone watches events in Paris very closely," says Jerome Fourquet, deputy director of polling at the capital's IFOP polling company. "What happens here provides cadence to what goes on everywhere else."

But like most inhabitants of France's 37,000-odd communes where voting starts next Sunday, the 2.3m Parisians who officially live in the city limits, only a quarter of the metropolitan population, are mainly concerned about local issues.

Crime and security are near the top of their agenda. Affordable housing ranks high on the list. So do public transport and the availability of local services, such as creches for working parents. "Education and childcare is our biggest problem in the city," says Stephanie, a restaurant worker who preferred not to give her surname.

So what are the candidates' chances?

As the long-serving deputy to Bertrand Delanoe, the departing Socialist mayor, Ms Hidalgo is fighting from the front - but not by much. The latest opinion poll puts Ms Hidalgo, who grew up in Lyon, at 38.5 per cent against NKM's 37.5 per cent in next Sunday's first round of voting and at 52.5 per cent against 47.5 per cent in the second round a week later.

The current administration's summer beach installations and alternative transport schemes such as the "Velib" bicycle-sharing service and its "Autoblib" electric-car equivalent have gone down well with many, though not all, residents.

Damien Thouvenel, a 33-year-old commodities trader, who has just bought a flat in Paris's eclectic 18th arrondissement, thinks that Ms Hidalgo's strong association with such schemes could tip things in her favour. "I have nothing against NKM but, overall, the government has done a pretty good job," he says.

Little wonder that the photogenic Ms Hidalgo intends to continue largely in the same spirit as Mr Delanoe. Her most striking pledge is to turn the ultra-chic Avenue Foch, just a stone's throw from the Arc de Triomphe, into the city's largest pedestrian avenue.

To the horror of its affluent and largely conservative residents, she has additional plans for a nearby social housing project to ease the pressure on poor families.

"I want the 16th arrondissement to assume its responsibility, by contributing to the social diversity of Paris," she said of the city's upmarket district on a recent visit.

But while Parisians may like the Velib bicycles post global crisis, many are also consumed by a deepening morosite, a sulleness or sluggishness. They complain of rising local taxes, deteriorating security and heavy traffic on the capital's roads. In short, they think that living in the city of light is an increasingly sombre experience.

NKM, whose grandfather was a Gaullist politician and former French ambassador to the US, is promising to liberate Paris and its residents.

"Paris should be the city of emancipation," she said at a recent rally. "There has to be less stress, less pollution and more freedom."

To that end, NKM wants to break down the strict weekend trading hours. "A lot of people find Sundays in Paris sad," she says. "Allowing Sunday trading would send a message that we are open for business."

While saving €1bn in government spending in the coming years, she also wants to double the number of surveillance cameras, partly enclose the rumbling "peripherique" ring road and keep the city's metro and creches open for longer.

The trouble is that many voters consider her too posh to understand everyday realities. Her recent comments about the "charms" of Paris's packed metro had most of its daily users rolling their eyes.

Ms Hidalgo also has her weaknesses, notably the perception that she is less charismatic than Mr Delanoe. But if the polls are to be believed, her lack of charisma may end up counting for less with voters.

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