(Bloomberg) -- Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo will not seek a third term in office, setting in motion a succession battle for the coveted job that has historically served as a springboard for the presidency.
The 65-year-old Socialist told Le Monde on Tuesday that she would support the candidacy of left-wing Senator Remi Feraud for the job that she has held since 2014.
Hidalgo, a former presidential candidate and the first woman to lead Paris, told the French daily that she would not run for president after her tenure ends.
She ran on the Socialist party ticket in the 2022 presidential election and got less than 2% of the vote — marking the worst result in her party’s history.
Hidalgo is known for making Paris greener by reducing car traffic in the capital and increasing bike lanes. But she has also drawn the ire of critics who cite a deterioration in cleanliness in the French capital and her abrasive management style as problematic.
Asked what she would do after the end of her term, the Paris mayor said she would remain in politics and keep working on climate justice “in a spot where I’ll be very free.”
Other politicians also cited as potential candidates for Paris mayor in 2026 are Culture Minister Rachida Dati, former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, and tech billionaire Xavier Niel.
Former President Jacques Chirac became Paris mayor in 1977 — some 18 years before becoming premier.
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