A woman will become mayor of Paris for the first time in the city's 2,000-year history, and voters will have a choice of two candidates, Belfast Telegraph reported.

The outcome of the conservative selection process that begins May 31 is all but decided - Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, or NKM as she is often known, is widely considered the only candidate with a realistic chance. Her Socialist opponent in the March 2014 election will be Anne Hidalgo, the current mayor's designated heir.

The election is next year but the two have already begun to spar indirectly, notably over security and tourism in Paris, where ugly riots erupted earlier this month during a celebration to honour the French soccer club Paris Saint-Germain. But they have distinctly different visions of how Paris should serve its 2.3 million residents and the 29 million people who visit each year.

The race also includes other female candidates from smaller parties who are considered unlikely to win.

Kosciusko-Morizet has called for stores in the city's main tourist districts to open on Sundays, saying that Paris is losing tour groups to London on the weekends because of requirements that shops close for a day. She also wants to crack down on the pickpockets who swarm the subways and major attractions such as the Louvre and Eiffel Tower.