Paris legislative by-election: former minister Frédérique Bredin is the Socialist Party candidate to challenge Rachida Dati and Michel Barnier

The Parisian federal council of the Socialist Party officially proposed his name unanimously on Wednesday evening to the party's national office.

A former minister of François Mitterrand, Frédérique Bredin, 68, will be the Socialist Party candidate in the legislative by-election in the 2nd constituency of Paris , facing Michel Barnier and Rachida Dati , according to the party.

The Socialist Party's Parisian federal council officially and unanimously proposed her name to the party's national bureau on Wednesday evening, which is expected to ratify it in the coming weeks. "Frédérique Bredin is a strong and experienced woman, the best candidate to represent the left in Paris's second constituency," facing "Rachida Dati and Michel Barnier, who are offering us a battle of egos," Emma Rafowicz, the federation's election chief, told AFP.

Former Socialist Minister of Sports (1991-1993) in the government of Edith Cresson and then Pierre Bérégovoy, Frédérique Bredin withdrew from political life after joining the Lagardère Medias group in 2000, but has rejoined the Socialist Party in recent years. She supported Emmanuel Grégoire in the Socialist primary for the 2026 municipal elections.

Once considered Macron-compatible, she was among those whose name was mentioned during a reshuffle in 2018. Appointed president of the National Cinema Center (CNC) from 2013 to 2019, she had nevertheless refused to carry out the reform of cinema financing desired by Emmanuel Macron.