Could Pascal Praud declare himself a candidate for mayor of Nantes during the 2026 municipal elections? The rumor has been spreading for several days on social networks and in some media. Given the notoriety of the journalist-host of CNews and Europe 1, it is widely commented on locally, including, of course, in the corridors of Nantes City Hall. If many prefer to laugh about it, a few believe in it firmly, convinced by the Nantes origins of the 59-year-old polemicist, by his supposed megalomania, as well as by his latest virulent stances against Johanna’s politics. Rolland, PS mayor of Nantes since 2014.
But what exactly does the person concerned say about it? Requested by 20 minutes, Pascal Praud assures this Thursday that this rumor “is not based on anything”. “It was never, ever, ever a question of it. I never thought about it. I have never been in politics, I don’t want to, I have no qualities for it, I don’t match the profile. All of this is based on absolutely nothing. » Is he surprised by this rumor? “No, nothing surprises me, but it doesn’t matter. The important thing is that it has no basis. None, none, none. »
“I don’t fixate on anyone”
Pascal Praud does not deny that he “loves a lot” his native life but emphasizes that he sees it “very little today”. He also refutes the idea that he contributes to “Nantes bashing” in his broadcasts. “I’m not sure that I’m referring to Nantes more than to other cities. I haven’t talked about it since Winter’s Journey a month ago. We talk about topics that are in the news, period. I don’t fixate on anyone. I think I talk more about Anne Hidalgo than Johanna Rolland,” he claims.
Wednesday, on the air of CNews, Pascal Praud had already made it clear that he did not see a future in politics. “I will be a journalist until the end of my life. The only time I left this beautiful profession I was very bad and it was a fiasco,” he said on set, referring to his delicate experience as communications director for FC Nantes between January 2008. and March 2010.
On September 6, Johanna Rolland announced that she would be a candidate for a third term at the head of the City of Dukes. A month later, opposition municipal councilor Foulques Chombart de Lauwe (LR) also declared himself a candidate, taking his own camp by surprise. The city of Nantes has been led by a left-wing mayor since the election of Jean-Marc Ayrault in 1989.