A confidential memo, seen by Le Monde, says a lot about Mayor Anne Hidalgo. The Socialist leader of Paris city council recently sent a letter to Prime Minister Manuel Valls detailing the many areas in which central government ignores the capital’s rights. Hidalgo wants to get rid of an anomaly that dates from when the city was governed by a préfet, a central government official.
A clash with central government over the thorny issue of Sunday opening hours is looming. When a recent economic reform bill failed to remove the préfet’s prerogative to decide Sunday opening hours in Paris, the mayor’s office applied to France’s Constitutional Council for a “priority ruling” (QPC) on the issue. In other places, the mayor has the last word.
“We’re sure our application for a QPC ruling will show we’re right,” said one of the mayor’s advisers. In a letter dated 27 July to Jean-Louis Debré, chair of the Constitutional Council, which Le Monde has seen, Hidalgo cites a 2009 ruling by the council that it was “contrary to the principle of equality between territorial authorities” for the préfet to decide which Sundays could be worked.
Hidalgo has also been irked by the economy minister, Emmanuel Macron, for attempting to set up a dozen international tourist zones in the capital, without consulting her. In these districts, shops would be allowed to stay open till midnight on weekdays and Sundays. “The zones you plan to set up reflect an unrealistic view of the city, wholly given over to consumer-oriented tourism,” Hidalgo wrote to Macron last month.
The mayor’s concern over extended Sunday opening has much to do with Green and Left Front councillors – part of her ruling coalition – opposing it.
Hidalgo is determined to have a voice nationally. Although she dismisses the idea of being a rebel, Hidalgo is open about her opposition to “those who assert that undermining workers’ rights will create new jobs”, a barely veiled reference to Macron. Distancing herself from Valls too, she adds: “I’m wary of people who dress up their neo-liberal policies as social liberalism.”
Since being elected in March 2014, Hidalgo has staked out a position on the left of the Socialist party (PS). “Her strong point, and she knows it, is that she has succeeded in holding together a multiparty coalition – with Socialists, Greens and Communists – on the Paris council, much as former prime minister Lionel Jospin did in his time,” says her personal assistant, Mathias Vicherat.
Hidalgo’s stance on Europe’s refugee crisis also provides insights. In early September she announced that temporary accommodation had been opened in Paris. She went on to post a welcoming message in Arabic on Twitter. However, she is careful not to be too outspoken, stepping back from an earlier call for a long-term refugee “hostel” in Paris for fear of upsetting the interior ministry. She has thus stayed on good terms with the minister, Bernard Cazeneuve. “Anne Hidalgo is a great person and very smart. She is determined and efficient. With her, there’s no timewasting,” he told Le Monde.
To defend her stance, she cites her local record. “I’m convinced it’s absolutely necessary to reconcile economic, social and environmental priorities. The most convincing proof that I’m right is that this approach is working in Paris,” she asserts, adding that she wants to make the city a test case for “new democratic practices”. It’s the mayor’s job, she claims, “to create a framework which enables private enterprise to develop”.
Her message to business leaders, entrepreneurs and NGOs is, “Think up new ideas for Paris and we’ll help you make them happen,” according to Jean-François Martins, deputy-mayor in charge of sport. “She doesn’t think government and the public sector have all the right answers. In that respect she’s a bit less socialist than the rest of the PS,” adds Martins. At the same time her plans for participatory budget-setting reflect her determination to bring Paris residents into the decision-making process.
Another aspect of the “Hidalgo model” is her international activity. She believes in the “Think local, act global” mantra, says her communication manager, Hervé Marro. She has taken ideas from other capital cities and also urged them to adopt best practice from Paris, something that adds to the image of her as a global promoter of Paris. She has travelled more widely and more frequently than her predecessor Bertrand Delanoë, eager to be seen as more than just a local politician.
“She has connected and made friends with her peers abroad, so many of them now acknowledge her as a stateswoman,” says Patrick Klugman, deputy-mayor in charge of international relations.
Her growing prominence has not gone unnoticed. “After 2017, if we lose the presidential election and [Socialist president of France’s national assembly] Claude Bartolone fails in his bid to head the regional council, she will be the most powerful leftwing politician,” says Rémi Féraud, leader of the PS group on Paris city council.
So will Hidalgo make a bid for president in 2022? “There is no question of that,” says Bruno Julliard, her deputy. To give the impression she has that in mind, “before consolidating her position on the city council would be very risky”, says one of her advisers, only to add: “But if she does set her sights on that job, she won’t trip on the last step.”
This article appeared in Guardian Weekly, which incorporates material from Le Monde
