The Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, arrives at the Place de la Bastille by bicycle to attend the “car-free” day … [+]
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo won reelection in the French capital. The expected announcement was made on June 28.
Hidalgo, mayor since 2014, beat conservative candidate Rachida Dati in France’s municipal elections, winning 50.2% of the vote compared to Dati’s 32%. Agnes Buzyn came in with just 16%.
The second round of the municipal elections, which had been postponed to the start of the coronavirus crisis, witnessed record low turnout thanks to concerns over COVID-19. Only 40% of voters voted in elections held in cities across France, and did so with their own pens (voting by mail is not legal in France).
As part of his manifesto, Hidalgo plans to turn the French capital into a myriad of neighborhoods where “you can find everything you need within 15 minutes of your home.” But preferably not by car.
Instead, the Socialist Party politician wants more Parisians to walk and bike. Plans for the “fifteen minute city,” or Ville Du Quart D’Heure, were revealed on January 21 by Hidalgo’s re-election campaign, Paris En Commun. The plans, which aim to transform Paris into a people-friendly city, build on Hidalgo’s “Plan Vélo” transportation changes made during his current term, which has included removing space for cars and increasing space for cyclists and pedestrians.
The 15-minute city will involve remodeling the streets of Paris.
Hidalgo unveiled more Paris plans for people during a clash hosted at a bike shop on January 28, including for all streets in the French capital to have a bike path and for all city bridges to have protected bikeways. .
“If you liked season 1 [of Plan Vélo] , you’ll love season 2, “he insisted. On January 29, Hidalgo revealed that the space required to make Paris riders friendly would come primarily at the expense of motorsports. According to his plans, Paris will remove 72% of its spaces from Street parking According to a 2019 study by Atelier Parisien d’Urbanisme (Apur), there are 83,500 street parking spaces in Paris; Hidalgo plans to eliminate 60,000 of them.
(There are 621,600 parking spaces in total in Paris, most of them national or commercial).
Hidalgo’s victory will now allow these ecological movements, and others, to continue. He has a six-year term and will be able to push through many, if not all, of the measures he has promised.
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