(LREM) won 12 of the 18 Paris constituencies during the 2017 French legislative election, the incumbent Hidalgo still retained a narrow lead in polling, even with criticism over the aborted Autolib' carsharing scheme and the debt increase over her term.

Jean-Luc Mélenchon of La France Insoumise (LFI) said: "The publication of intimate images to destroy an adversary is odious."

It has been seen as an intrusion into private life that is considered off limits, with Alexis Corbière of LFI called the "Americanisation" of politics, where "people have to apologise for having lovers or mistresses".

Petr Pavlensky, who released the link states it was to expose his hypocrisy, quoted as saying: "He [Griveaux] is someone who is always mentioning family values.

[16][17][18] The first round of municipal elections in France took place on 15 March 2020 against the backdrop of the government decision to move to Stage III of measures to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stringent restrictions on public life involving the closure of bars, restaurants and other businesses considered non-essential were set to begin the following day.

[19] Then-Health Minister, Agnès Buzyn, resigned on 16 February 2020 to run for the Paris mayor as the official candidate of LREM.

The decision to press ahead with the election was justified as being critical to democratic life in the country, despite concerns about when a second round could be held as the toll of infections and deaths continued to rise.

[1] Her closest rival, conservative Rachida Dati, won 22%, while 17.7% was garnered by French President Emmanuel Macron’s official candidate, former health minister Agnes Buzyn.