As Paris prepares to elect a new mayor, Socialist Party candidate Emmanuel Grégoire is reopening the entire debate over the future of the Parc des Princes. Breaking from Hidalgo’s stance, he says he is ready to sell the stadium to PSG to resolve a two-year conflict, a strong position also supported by LR candidate Rachida Dati.
Just months before a decisive municipal election for PSG’s future, Emmanuel Grégoire, PS candidate and former first deputy to Anne Hidalgo, laid out in L’Équipe a plan that could reshuffle the deck: finally opening the door to selling the Parc des Princes to the Parisian club, a clear rupture with the incumbent mayor’s position.
A political shift reopening the path to a stadium sale
His plan is based on two scenarios to be put to a vote by the Paris Council: a long-term fiduciary lease, though he knows PSG’s ownership is skeptical of this option; or a straightforward sale, which he fully embraces. “Yes, as mayor, a sale is an option I will propose to the Paris Council. We must move beyond posturing to find a solution.”
Grégoire wants to “put all options on the table” and build an agreement satisfying both the club and the City. His proposal includes shared clauses governing any deal, such as the obligation for the Parc to remain an outdoor football stadium should sporting activities cease or PSG face bankruptcy. The City would also retain a priority buyback right if the club were ever sold.
The next mayor of Paris could approve a sale… deal? This opening comes after two years of high tension between the city and the club’s leadership. PSG insists on owning the Parc to complete its major expansion project—from 48,000 to 60,000 seats—considered vital by Nasser Al-Khelaïfi. Lacking an agreement, the Qatari president even threatened in February 2024 to leave Paris, prompting several sites in the Île-de-France region to pitch themselves as alternatives.
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