Reconquest MEP Sarah Knafo, a rising figure on the far right, launched her campaign for mayor of Paris on Wednesday to "revive" a capital in "decline", and ruled out running in the 2027 presidential election.

"Today I am a Parisian and I see the city I love declining. No one will be as determined as me to put an end to the waste" in the capital, declared the elected official from Eric Zemmour's party on TF1, who becomes the sixth candidate in the municipal elections of March 15 and 22 in Paris.

"I see women afraid in the street, I see the debt exploding, I see taxes increasing, a dirty, unsanitary city," listed Sarah Knafo, who promises "a savings plan of nearly 10 billion euros to finally be able to lower taxes for Parisians" and "halve the property tax."

The MEP, the only nationally elected member of her party, also said she would like "at least two referendums per year" if she were elected.

The new darling of French conservatives, 32, is "giving herself six years to fix the most beautiful capital in the world." She is thus ruling out running in the 2027 presidential election, for which she "hopes" her partner Eric Zemmour's party "will have another candidate."

Her candidacy for the City Hall being of little suspense, it has already been tested in the polls: the latest one published in December gives her 7% of voting intentions in the first round, tied with the RN candidate Thierry Mariani.

According to this Ipsos poll, the (PS) candidate Emmanuel Grégoire, leading a union between socialists, ecologists and communists, would win 32% of the votes in the first round, ahead of the LR candidate Rachida Dati, supported by the MoDem, who would receive 27%.

Pierre-Yves Bournazel, the Horizons candidate supported by Renaissance, is credited with 14% of voting intentions, and Sophia Chikirou, the LFI lead candidate, is given 13%.

Four lists are thus able to qualify for the second round, which could lead to a four-way race, according to this survey.

A merger of the two far-right lists seems unlikely, with Marine Le Pen accusing Sarah Knafo of having "always fought" her party, which Eric Zemmour considers "socialist," as Thierry Mariani annoyedly reminded everyone when launching his campaign.

"Stepping stone for Dati"

Very present in the media of the Bolloré galaxy, the young aspiring mayor could, according to political scientist Benjamin Morel, "empty" the votes of Thierry Mariani, in view of the good scores obtained by Eric Zemmour in the capital in the presidential election of 2022, where he came in third position with 8% of the votes overall, and more than 17% in the 16th arrondissement, a bastion of the Parisian right.

"The Parisian electorate is not the classic RN electorate, it is rather the old Maurrasian far right, very 'Zemmouro-compatible'. There may also be a strategic vote on the far right, a space where Sarah Knafo is more consensual," the expert analyzes for AFP.

With a score of 10%, the MEP would be able to stay in the second round, which would be "a real problem for Rachida Dati", adds the political scientist.

This latest candidacy "is part of a strategy aimed at serving as a stepping stone for Rachida Dati and opening the door to an open alliance between the extreme right and the far right," Emmanuel Grégoire criticized in a statement.

On Wednesday evening, Sarah Knafo said she was "ready to work" with Rachida Dati if she won the mayoral election, as well as with "all those who share my project".

"I hope that Parisians will trust me because I truly believe I have the best program for Paris. It will be the most transparent, costed, rigorous program, as I have learned to do," promised the graduate of the École Nationale d'Administration (ENA), who previously worked at the Court of Auditors.

"But if Parisians were to choose someone else, I would be entirely constructive in promoting my ideas," she concluded.