Who will become Paris' first 'Madame Mayor?'

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Who will become Paris' first 'Madame Mayor?'

By Marcela Kunova, for CNN
updated 12:56 PM EDT, Fri March 28, 2014

(CNN) -- As Parisians head to the polls for a second round of municipal elections this Sunday, one of two women could become Paris' first "Madame le Maire".

On the left is the Socialist candidate, Spanish-born Anne Hidalgo, 54, the deputy mayor under Paris' incumbent Bertrand Delanoë.

On the right is Natalie Kosciusko-Morizet, 40, a former minister in Nicolas Sarkozy's center-right government.

As women have long been underrepresented in French politics, this upcoming local election is expected to be an historic one.

Today, women make up 26.9% of National Assembly députés, while in local politics they account for just 13.9%.

Click on the flashing icons above to discover more about the two contenders going head to head in Paris' mayoral elections.

Lauren Said-Moorhouse contributed to this piece.

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NKM, left; Hidalgo at right.

... Despite their political differences, both candidates have centered their campaigns around the economy, housing, the environment and security.

For both Guénolé and Barroso, NKM's plans were a little less clear than her rival's, especially on housing.

"The electoral campaigns, for both the right and the left, were equal in their inanity," says Guénolé, with both candidates preferring to throw barbs at each other rather than focus on policy.

A debate organised by French broadcasters iTélé and RTL between the two candidates on March 26 was a perfect example of this, he added.

"Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet kept attacking Anne Hidalgo on Delanoé's legacy, and Anne Hidalgo dropped - every five minutes - that NKM wants to use Paris as a springboard for the presidency," Barroso said. ...

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Hidalgo is expected to win:

... However despite NKM's lead Hidalgo is still set up to become the next mayor of Paris due to the fact she is expected to win over a greater number of key districts of the capital – an electoral procedure used for France’s largest cities.

Hidalgo was ahead in the key arrondissements - the 12th and the 14th - and the those who voted Green and Front de Gauche are expected to support Hidalgo in next Sunday's second round. ...

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