Wanted: a cleaner, greener Paris after the coronavirus gloom

The mayor, Anne Hidalgo, is struggling to enthuse her supporters as the capital goes to the polls

Sitting on a newly painted bench at Place de la Republique in central Paris under the gaze of the statue of Marianne - France's national icon - Laurent David suggested the square could be a metaphor for the capital.

It's better than it was, but nowhere near as good as it could be," he said. They spent a fortune doing it up only a few years ago and now look. The place is covered in cigarette ends and the paving stones are so damaged and uneven people are falling over."