In a major city like Paris, the municipality plays a crucial role in shaping the local economic vitality. Through urban planning policies, support programs for small businesses, and management of public spaces, city authorities have a wide array of tools to influence business activity, employment, and neighborhood appeal. For instance, the city can decide how commercial spaces are allocated, promote the establishment of new businesses, regulate certain types of shops, or make it easier for start-ups and innovative companies to set up shop.
The local government also plays a key role in managing permits for public space usage, overseeing local taxes—such as those imposed on businesses—and supporting entrepreneurs through incubators, business accelerators, and employment programs. Explore the candidates’ proposals on these issues ahead of the upcoming municipal elections.
As of March 6, 2026, there are still no concrete proposals or measures specifically dedicated to the issue on the candidate's or party's website.
- Empower neighborhood councils to actively monitor vacant commercial spaces, support commercial programming, and involve local merchants in organizing community events.
- Establish a municipal employment and ecological transition division.
- Prioritize awarding public contracts to socially and ecologically responsible businesses that uphold wage equality.
- Recognize independent bookstores as "essential commerce" and allocate a legal aid fund of €100,000 to assist those facing legal challenges related to their editorial activities.
- Support independent cinemas in Paris, combat closures by converting them into "SCIC" (cooperative of collective interest), and municipalize them where possible.
- Enhance financial and technical support for alternative cultural venues, especially in issues related to soundproofing.
- Transform Paris Commerce’s property holdings into a public land bank, purchasing 150 private commercial spaces annually (compared to the current 40-50), including spaces or basements for production activities.
- Generalize social utility commercial leases, reduce rents for small businesses by offering municipal premises with rent set proportionally (5% of turnover).
- Create a "Commercial Land Bank of Utility" label.
- Utilize right of pre-emption for commercial vacancies over six months that affect neighborhood life, assigning their acquisition to the public commercial land bank focused on utility and productivity.
- Establish a single municipal support desk for local businesses and crafts, streamlining procedures and access to aid.
- Develop covered markets and halls in working-class neighborhoods, featuring local producers, small shops, recycling centers, and second-hand goods.
- Launch the "Produce in Paris" program to acquire, rehabilitate, and manage spaces dedicated to artisanal production, complemented by a unified "Proximity and Craftsmanship" platform to coordinate the growth of productive sectors within Paris intra-muros.
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- Streamlining administrative procedures for businesses: establishing a single-window platform for all commercial, artisanal, and industrial projects, with multi-step appointments to consolidate processes into a single visit.
- For permits related to public space usage (terraces, displays, construction): processing time limited to three weeks, implementation of a "silence-gives-acceptance" rule, and the creation of a tracking interface to monitor application progress.
- Conducting systematic impact assessments on commerce during major urban development projects.
- Conducting audits of missing local shops in neighborhoods, coordinated by district councils.
- Temporary exemption from property tax for new businesses in premises left vacant for over two years and for companies providing sustainable local services that are lacking in underserved neighborhoods.
- Launching pop-up markets to promote temporary commerce.
- Offering adult training programs to develop key skills such as languages, digital customer service, management, and professional training.
- Establishing Parisian hubs dedicated to digital technologies and AI, connecting companies, schools, and universities with small and medium-sized enterprises to support the deployment of billing tools, customer relationship management, and automation through student mentorship.
- Creating shared neighborhood collections for businesses that rely on private services, reducing logistical costs.
- Allocating 1% of the city’s investment budget to "proof of concepts" to enable entrepreneurs to test and implement their solutions in Paris.
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- Implementing measures to regulate commercial rent prices, making them more affordable
- Putting vacant commercial spaces up for auction if they remain empty for over 12 months
- Creating a community investment fund to support local shops
- Offering a waste collection service for food and cardboard for small businesses at a lower cost than private providers
- Establishing a one-stop shop to simplify administrative procedures for merchants
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- End of the bioclimatic local urban planning scheme (PLUb)
- First hour of parking free for professionals working in Paris
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- Establishment of a €50 million investment fund over five years to subsidize the takeover of vacant shops across Paris.
- Creation of a support fund for young entrepreneurs under 35 taking over local businesses, offering municipal assistance covering up to 50% of bank loans.
- Introduction of a 30% annual tax on the rental value of commercial premises that have been vacant for more than two years.
- Launch of 15 markets promoting short supply chains.
- Delegation of authorization rights to the borough councils for Sunday and nighttime openings, as well as terrace bookings.
- Creation of a municipal incubator managed by the borough councils.
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As of March 6, 2026, there are no concrete proposals or measures explicitly dedicated to the topic on the candidate's or party's official website.
To help clarify the key issues concerning the management of Paris, we've prepared a comprehensive overview sorted by topics. You can find all these themes listed below!
2026 Paris Municipal Elections: Candidate Program Proposals by Theme
The municipal elections are just around the corner, and you're eager to learn more about the candidates’ platforms for the Paris city hall? We've got you covered. Explore their proposals by theme—security, housing, environment, education, culture—and see where each candidate stands! [Read more]
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2026 Paris Municipal Elections: Candidate Program Proposals by Theme
