By Gary Barlow

Staff writer

Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe’s easy reelection win in France’s March 16 local elections has fueled speculation that he could challenge French President Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2012 presidential election.

If that happens and Delanoe wins, he would be the first openly gay person to lead a major country.

Sarkozy’s Union for a Popular Movement lost control of dozens of municipalities, including conservative Toulouse, as well as Strasbourg, Blois, Reims, Caen and Amiens. Sarkozy’s popularity has plummeted in the 10 months since he defeated another Socialist leader, Segolene Royal, for the presidency. Sarkozy promised market-oriented reforms of the French economy but has scaled back some of those proposals as the country’s economic indicators remain sluggish.

Sarkozy’s personal life and style have also contributed to his unpopularity, including several angry public outbursts and a widely publicized divorce that was followed by a quick courtship and marriage to supermodel Carla Bruni.

Recent polls, on the other hand, rank Delanoe as France’s most popular politician. As mayor of Paris, he has instituted a number of wildly successful programs, including one that put 10,000 bicycles on the city’s streets for public use. Delanoe was a city councilman in 1998 when he came out as gay, explaining that doing so might help to “lighten the burden of secrecy borne by so many others.

He was elected mayor in 2001 and spent nearly a month in a hospital after being stabbed by a homophobic attacker in 2002.