Mayoral

Chris Parry described Shomrim members as ‘cosplayers’ hours after arson attack in north LondonGolders Green ambulance arson attack – live updatesA Reform UK mayoral candidate has described members of a Jewish neighbourhood watch group as “cosplayers” and likened them to “Islamists on horseback” in comments made after an attack on ambulances run by a Jewish charity.Chris Parry, who remains Reform’s mayoral candidate for Hampshire despite a previous controversy in which he said David Lammy should “go home” to the Caribbean, made the comments on Monday about Shomrim, a group of volunteers who safeguard communities including Orthodox Jewish families. Continue reading...

City hall veteran forecast to beat rightwinger Rachida Dati, while Marseille’s leftist incumbent leads far-right opponentThe Socialist Emmanuel Grégoire was on track to be elected mayor of Paris on Sunday night, roundly beating the former rightwing minister Rachida Dati, early projections showed.Grégoire, a Socialist MP with a long track record at city hall, was running for a united left including the Greens. He was projected to have won with about 53%. This would mark a clear win against Dati, who served in government under Emmanuel Macron and Nicolas Sarkozy and had sought to win the French capital for the right after 25 years governed by the left. Continue reading...

Electoral alliances expected to play vital role in number of contests including Paris and MarseilleVoting is under way in France in the second round of local elections – seenas a bellwether for next year’s presidential race – with cities including Paris and Marseille in the balance and both the radical left and far right hoping for gains.Most of France’s 35,000-odd communes elected their councils in the first round last Sunday, but in municipalities where the contest is tighter, including most large urban areas, the second round will be decisive, with electoral alliances playing a key role. Continue reading...