Portrait of Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, image from www.wikipedia.org/wiki/image:Delanoe-credit-thomas

Portrait of Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe, 2007 Socialist Rally. Image from www.wikipedia.org/wiki/image:socialist-rally-zenith-20007-05-29-n7

Bertrand Delanoe is the re-elected Mayor of Paris and currently the most popular figure in French polls. Born on May 30, 1950, in Tunisia (originally from Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, Bourdan), he grew up in Bizerte and joined the La Croix de Bois children’s choir at age five. He said, “This is his best memory from that year.” As a teenager, his family moved back to France, settling in Rodez, Aveyron, where he completed secondary school at Sainte-Marie.

Delanoe entered politics young (at 21) by joining the Socialist Party. By 1973, he was Secretary-General of the Aveyron branch, then led by former French President François Mitterrand. Multitalented and gifted in public speaking, he quickly won the party leader’s favor. When Mitterrand transferred him to Paris, Delanoe was elected city councilor in 1977, forming a group with former Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, former Interior Minister Daniel Vaillant, and Claude Estier in the 18th arrondissement. In 1981, he was elected MP for Paris’s 18th arrondissement, becoming the Socialist Party’s spokesperson and third-ranking figure.

He was re-elected to the Paris City Council in 1983 and 1989, gaining deep knowledge of metropolitan affairs. In 1986, he was sent to Avignon in southern France for legislative elections but faced local opposition, leading him to withdraw from politics temporarily and work in private mass communication while retaining his city council seat. In 1989, he ran again for MP in the 18th arrondissement but lost to the right-wing candidate Alain Juppé.

In 1993, he became the dominant figure of the Socialist opposition in the Paris City Council. In 1995, he ran as a left-wing candidate for mayor; Jean Tiberi was elected, but for the first time, six of Paris’s twenty arrondissements fell under left-wing control (previously all were right-wing). That same year, Delanoe was elected senator for the Paris Socialists and became Secretary for Foreign Affairs and Defense.

In 2001, he ran again for mayor, capitalizing on right-wing divisions, winning 49.59% of the vote and successfully becoming Mayor of Paris. During his seven-year tenure, he implemented significant reforms across urban planning, economy, transportation, social services, education, culture, tourism, and cleanliness, making Paris vibrant and one of the world’s top cultural and tourist capitals. His re-election in March 2008 affirmed his reform achievements and demonstrated his political wisdom and charisma. Paris has opened grand political horizons for Delanoe, who may become the next Socialist Party leader and future presidential candidate.