Right-wing ex-minister vies for Paris city hall

Leftist mayors have transformed Paris over the past 25 years to include countless cycling lanes, a cleaner Seine river, and even fresher air.

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But concerns over safety and rubbish collection could usher in a return of the right in local polls starting on Sunday.Rachida Dati, a right-winger who until recently was the culture minister, wants to become the capital's second woman mayor in a row. Dati, 60, hopes to replace Socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo, 66, who is to step down after two terms in the post, leaving behind a legacy that includes making the Seine swimmable for the first time in a century for the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Dati has thrown all she has into her campaign for city hall, despite a trial looming in September on corruption charges she denies. Riding on the back of a garbage collector's truck for her social media accounts, she has promised a city that is clean seven days a week. Also a former justice minister, Dati wants to boost law and order by giving weapons to municipal police officers and increasing video surveillance. Her main rival is 48-year-old Socialist candidate Emmanuel Gregoire, Hidalgo’s deputy.