PARIS, France: The race for Paris mayor hung in the balance on Monday as a right-wing former minister hoping to wrest control of the French capital from the left claimed she had gained key support for a second-round run-off.
Rachida Dati, until recently France´s culture minister, is aiming to become the capital´s second woman mayor in a row, and bring Paris under the control of the right for the first time in 25 years.
Her main rival is Socialist former deputy mayor Emmanuel Gregoire, who came out well ahead of her in the first round of voting on Sunday. But a new alliance on the right, if confirmed, could put them head-to-head.
Gregoire has promised to carry on the legacy of outgoing Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo, including increasing the number of bike lanes and green spaces and improving public housing in the densely populated city of two million people.
Dati -- soon to go on trial for graft charges she denies -- has vowed to make the city cleaner and safer, pledging to improve rubbish collection, give weapons to municipal police officers and increase video surveillance.
