Anne Hidalgo
Ana María "Anne" Hidalgo Aleu (French pronunciation: [an idalɡo], Spanish: [iˈðalɣo]; born 19 June 1959) is a Spanish-born French politician who has served as Mayor of Paris since 2014, the first woman to hold the office. She is a member of the Socialist Party.
Anne Hidalgo | |
|---|---|
Hidalgo in 2014 | |
| Mayor of Paris | |
| Assumed office 5 April 2014 | |
| Deputy | Bruno Julliard Emmanuel Grégoire |
| Preceded by | Bertrand Delanoë |
| First Deputy Mayor of Paris | |
| In office 18 March 2001 – 5 April 2014 | |
| Mayor | Bertrand Delanoë |
| Preceded by | Jacques Dominati |
| Succeeded by | Bruno Julliard |
| Councillor of Paris | |
| Assumed office 9 March 2001 | |
| Constituency | 15th arrondissement (2001–2020) 11th arrondissement (2020–present) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ana María Hidalgo Aleu 19 June 1959 San Fernando, Andalusia, Spain |
| Citizenship |
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| Political party | Socialist Party |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 3 |
| Residence | Hôtel de Ville de Paris |
| Alma mater | Jean Moulin University Lyon 3 Paris West University Nanterre La Défense |
| Signature | |
Hidalgo served as First Deputy Mayor of Paris under Mayor Bertrand Delanoë (2001–2014), having held the title of Councillor of Paris since the 2001 municipal election. She was elected to the mayoralty in 2014 after Delanoë announced he would not seek a third term. Her first term as Mayor of Paris was marked by the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting and November 2015 Paris attacks, including the Bataclan theatre massacre which she witnessed the aftermath of, first-hand. Her popularity declined following several instances of alleged mismanagement, to the point that polls showed a majority of voters did not want her to win a second term in 2020. First Deputy Mayor Bruno Julliard resigned in 2018, criticising Hidalgo's style of governance. In April 2019 she oversaw the disaster recovery efforts for the Notre-Dame de Paris fire. While the COVID-19 pandemic led to a record low voter turnout, she was reelected although failed to secure an absolute majority of the vote.
During her second term as Mayor of Paris, Hidalgo has overseen the city's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, implementing measures such as nightly curfews, closure of non-essential shops and the introduction of 50 kilometres (31 mi) of pop-up cycle lanes known as "coronapistes" to ease pressure on public transport. By January 2021, a number of Hidalgo's policies have gained international attention, such as her proposal to remove over half of Paris's car parking spaces and turn the Champs-Élysées into a "fantastic garden".
On 12 September 2021, Hidalgo announced her candidacy in the 2022 presidential election, despite her pledge in 2020 to serve a full second term as Mayor of Paris. She came tenth out of twelve candidates, with 1.75% of the vote, the lowest result for a Socialist candidate in a French presidential election in history.