On the eve of the 2000s Île-de-France's system of governance was beset with conflict, as we saw in Chapter 3. This level of conflict was in part the consequence of struggles between still highly ideological political parties, espousing different if not antagonistic visions of society in general and of Île-de-France in particular.

We have seen that the divergences between the political forces were nothing new, but had been constructed not only over time but also in space. This construction took place in two ways. On the one hand, the parties tried – with a degree of success – to anchor their dominance territorially by forging institutional bastions: broadly, the western départements, the city of Paris and the region for the conservatives, the northern, eastern and, partly, the southern départements for the forces of the left.

On the other hand, they formed more or less lasting alliances, the Gaullist parties with the liberals and centrists, the communists with the Socialist Party, and the latter with the green movements. These political alliances in part maintained the pre-existing territorial configurations. The picture that emerges from this is one of a political system with a balance of forces between right and left.

The situation was to change significantly in the early 2000s, notably with the city of Paris (in 2001) and the region (in 1998) shifting to the left of the political chessboard. That is where these victories on the progressive side came to a halt, however. Although Paris remained within the orbit of the left, the region fell into the hands of the right in 2015 and again in 2021. Gradually, communist and socialist municipalities and certain left-wing départements, such as Val-d’Oise, joined the conservative camp, which began to pitch its tents in the former red suburbs. As we will see, the political – and party-political – squabbles, which would be exacerbated throughout the period at numerous elections, were to dominate the governance of Île-de-France, to the great displeasure of the business community and elements of civil society.