Municipal Elections: Does the Mayor of Paris Actually Live in the Paris City Hall?

In France, the President of the Republic resides at the Élysée Palace, the seat of presidential power. This tradition dates back to the Second Republic. But the President isn't the only one entitled to official housing: ministers, certain civil servants and senior officials, gendarmes, military personnel, and some private sector employees can also secure accommodation by signing their employment contracts.

And what about the mayor of Paris? Could the City Hall also serve as a residence for the city's elected official? In March 2026, residents will head to the polls to select their new municipal team and the next mayor of Paris, for the next six years. It looks like the Hôtel de Ville will soon welcome a new mayor... and perhaps a new tenant.

There is indeed a official residence available to the elected mayor during their term. However, Anne Hidalgo has never occupied it: in a 2014 report by Paris Match, it was reported that: “She [Anne Hidalgo] will not move out of her apartment in the 15th arrondissement for the grand official residence at City Hall, which has been partially converted into a nursery by her predecessor.” So, the mayor chose to keep her private residence instead.

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Jacques Chirac, the first mayor of Paris since the Commune, enjoyed a long stay at the City Hall with his family: they lived there for 18 years, from 1977 to 1995. Jean Tiberi succeeded Chirac and remained until 2001. Bernard Delanoë, who was mayor from 2001 to 2014, broke with tradition: he even decided to turn this apartment into a nursery, with half of the spots reserved for Paris city staff. Anne Hidalgo is continuing her predecessor’s work by transforming three salons into a shelter for homeless women. These spaces are managed by the Samu social and Emmaüs.

Can Paris's next mayor still live at City Hall? Technically, holding the office grants access to an apartment. In reality, undoing the renovations carried out by Delanoë and Hidalgo to reclaim these spaces for the mayor’s residence could prove to be quite a challenge.