French local election exit poll puts Socialist Paris mayor in lead

Listen to this article:

Paris’ incumbent mayor and Socialist party’s candidate Anne Hidalgo during the first round of the French municipal elections at a polling station in Paris, France March 15, 2020. Eliot Blondet/Pool via REUTERS

PARIS (Reuters) – Paris Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo was comfortably ahead of Conservative rival Rachida Dati after the first round of the French local elections on Sunday, an IPSOS exit poll showed.

Hidalgo with 30% was ahead of Dati on 22% and Agnes Buzyn from President Emmanuel Macron’s La Republique en Marche party in third with 17.7%, according to the exit poll.