The Far-Right 32-Year-Old Trying to Conquer Paris
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Current Issue
World
/ March 11, 2026
The Far-Right 32-Year-Old Trying to Conquer Paris
Sarah Knafo is young, media-savvy, and surging in the race to become the next mayor of the French capital.
Phineas Rueckert
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Sarah Knafo, member of the European Parliament and candidate for mayor of Paris, during her meeting at the Dome de Paris on March 9, 2026.
(Tomas Stevens / Abaca / Sipa USA via AP)
The metro doors open to the City Hall station, and the mayoral candidate walks out onto the platform. The candidate turns around and winks at the camera before walking out of frame. The slogan “A happy city” appears in blocky, retro, red-and-yellow lettering.
This might sound like one of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign ads. But it’s actually a spot for Sarah Knafo, a far-right politician currently trying to become the next mayor of Paris.
Knafo is a member of the radical right political party Reconquête, founded by polemicist Eric Zemmour, a former presidential candidate convicted multiple times for hate speech. Knafo cuts a different figure from Zemmour. Like Mamdani, she’s young—just 32. Like Mamdani, she’s trying to project an image of optimism during tough times. And like Mamdani, she’s campaigning on a host of quality-of-life issues such as the high cost of housing.
But the similarities end there. Mamdani campaigned to keep policing numbers flat; Knafo wants to drastically increase the number of armed police on the streets of Paris. Mamdani pushed for a rent freeze and more public housing; Knafo wants to auction off public housing to private buyers and end rent controls. Mamdani is trying to curb the influence of cars in New York City; Knafo wants to roll back the pedestrianization of much of Paris. She’s also promised to lower taxes, add more free parking spaces, and take a chain saw to the city budget, reducing it by €125 million per year through cuts to municipal staffing, environmental projects, and flagship cultural initiatives such as the “swimming in the Seine” project—a legacy of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
And, while Mamdani takes pride in his immigrant background, Knafo says, “Mass immigration did not create our problems, but it makes almost all of them worse.” She has also cultivated close ties to the MAGA movement in the United States.
Current Issue
April 2026 Issue
Yet, despite her radical approach, Knafo is a genuine player in the mayoral race. She’s currently polling at 13.5 percent, making her one of five candidates who appear poised to notch the 10 percent vote share necessary to advance to the second round in the closely watched election—a rare situation the French call a …
This affects the entire country.
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The Far-Right 32-Year-Old Trying to Conquer Paris
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Current Issue
World
/ March 11, 2026
The Far-Right 32-Year-Old Trying to Conquer Paris
Sarah Knafo is young, media-savvy, and surging in the race to become the next mayor of the French capital.
Phineas Rueckert
Share
Copy Link
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Ad Policy
Sarah Knafo, member of the European Parliament and candidate for mayor of Paris, during her meeting at the Dome de Paris on March 9, 2026.
(Tomas Stevens / Abaca / Sipa USA via AP)
The metro doors open to the City Hall station, and the mayoral candidate walks out onto the platform. The candidate turns around and winks at the camera before walking out of frame. The slogan “A happy city” appears in blocky, retro, red-and-yellow lettering.
This might sound like one of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign ads. But it’s actually a spot for Sarah Knafo, a far-right politician currently trying to become the next mayor of Paris.
Knafo is a member of the radical right political party Reconquête, founded by polemicist Eric Zemmour, a former presidential candidate convicted multiple times for hate speech. Knafo cuts a different figure from Zemmour. Like Mamdani, she’s young—just 32. Like Mamdani, she’s trying to project an image of optimism during tough times. And like Mamdani, she’s campaigning on a host of quality-of-life issues such as the high cost of housing.
But the similarities end there. Mamdani campaigned to keep policing numbers flat; Knafo wants to drastically increase the number of armed police on the streets of Paris. Mamdani pushed for a rent freeze and more public housing; Knafo wants to auction off public housing to private buyers and end rent controls. Mamdani is trying to curb the influence of cars in New York City; Knafo wants to roll back the pedestrianization of much of Paris. She’s also promised to lower taxes, add more free parking spaces, and take a chain saw to the city budget, reducing it by €125 million per year through cuts to municipal staffing, environmental projects, and flagship cultural initiatives such as the “swimming in the Seine” project—a legacy of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
And, while Mamdani takes pride in his immigrant background, Knafo says, “Mass immigration did not create our problems, but it makes almost all of them worse.” She has also cultivated close ties to the MAGA movement in the United States.
Current Issue
April 2026 Issue
Yet, despite her radical approach, Knafo is a genuine player in the mayoral race. She’s currently polling at 13.5 percent, making her one of five candidates who appear poised to notch the 10 percent vote share necessary to advance to the second round in the closely watched election—a rare situation the French call a …
The Far-Right 32-Year-Old Trying to Conquer Paris
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The Far-Right 32-Year-Old Trying to Conquer Paris
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Current Issue
World
/ March 11, 2026
The Far-Right 32-Year-Old Trying to Conquer Paris
Sarah Knafo is young, media-savvy, and surging in the race to become the next mayor of the French capital.
Phineas Rueckert
Share
Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky Pocket
Email
Ad Policy
Sarah Knafo, member of the European Parliament and candidate for mayor of Paris, during her meeting at the Dome de Paris on March 9, 2026.
(Tomas Stevens / Abaca / Sipa USA via AP)
The metro doors open to the City Hall station, and the mayoral candidate walks out onto the platform. The candidate turns around and winks at the camera before walking out of frame. The slogan “A happy city” appears in blocky, retro, red-and-yellow lettering.
This might sound like one of New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s campaign ads. But it’s actually a spot for Sarah Knafo, a far-right politician currently trying to become the next mayor of Paris.
Knafo is a member of the radical right political party Reconquête, founded by polemicist Eric Zemmour, a former presidential candidate convicted multiple times for hate speech. Knafo cuts a different figure from Zemmour. Like Mamdani, she’s young—just 32. Like Mamdani, she’s trying to project an image of optimism during tough times. And like Mamdani, she’s campaigning on a host of quality-of-life issues such as the high cost of housing.
But the similarities end there. Mamdani campaigned to keep policing numbers flat; Knafo wants to drastically increase the number of armed police on the streets of Paris. Mamdani pushed for a rent freeze and more public housing; Knafo wants to auction off public housing to private buyers and end rent controls. Mamdani is trying to curb the influence of cars in New York City; Knafo wants to roll back the pedestrianization of much of Paris. She’s also promised to lower taxes, add more free parking spaces, and take a chain saw to the city budget, reducing it by €125 million per year through cuts to municipal staffing, environmental projects, and flagship cultural initiatives such as the “swimming in the Seine” project—a legacy of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
And, while Mamdani takes pride in his immigrant background, Knafo says, “Mass immigration did not create our problems, but it makes almost all of them worse.” She has also cultivated close ties to the MAGA movement in the United States.
Current Issue
April 2026 Issue
Yet, despite her radical approach, Knafo is a genuine player in the mayoral race. She’s currently polling at 13.5 percent, making her one of five candidates who appear poised to notch the 10 percent vote share necessary to advance to the second round in the closely watched election—a rare situation the French call a …
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