The assessment of the socialist mayor of Paris, upon departure, is variously appreciated.
The chips are down, mass is said and Madame Hidalgo, if we are to believe her, would hold her balance sheet there. The games are the Olympics, of course. The mass, the solemn, inaugural one, which will be celebrated at Notre Dame this Saturday, December 7 in the presence of a large crowd of very high French and foreign personalities from the religious, political, cultural worlds, with the notable exception of His Holiness the Pope Francis, the latter having preferred the Island of Beauty to the island of holiness which will be, on that day at least, the one where the flagship cathedral of his own religion stands and which, moreover, happens to be dedicated to St. Louis.
The fact remains that, in these two circumstances, the Olympic Games and the flamboyant restoration of Notre Dame, Paris will have been in the eyes of the world at its most beautiful. The entourage, the court of Madame Hidalgo on departure, in their message of friendship and congratulation, only seem to want to remember from her municipal decade these enchanted parentheses, in particular that of the games.
No doubt the Mayor of Paris has her part in these successes. No doubt she accompanied them with enthusiasm. We will not discuss this point, of course.
Also read, Jonathan Siksou: Place of discord
But Paris is not just the embellishment of the games and the feat of a formidable resurrection project. There is the rest, everything else. The effects of the cycling frenzy of the city councilor who clearly intends that everything in his city, going, coming, moving, is now done on the calf. With, as an added bonus, a perpetual gymkhana between work barriers, holes, bumps, possibly trash cans, etc. For the provincial that I am, entering Paris by car has become the ultimate adventure. I don't forget to take food with me and bring anti-stress pills. I know full well that I could contact one of these street traders for this type of product who are growing in number in the city of Hidalgo, but I am told that the quality is neither monitored nor reliable. A third term would undoubtedly have allowed Ms. Hidalgo to take care of the issue. To be continued… The food that I took with me, I avoid consuming them on a bench in the Tuileries or elsewhere. Report to rats, you see. They don't sell anything on the street but they are even more numerous than these merchants. This means… Here, we now use their official name, surmulot. It's just as disgusting, fearsome, carrying filth, but it's more noble and above all more marked by benevolence towards the animal species. The brown mouse, therefore, finds accommodation and proliferates at ease throughout Paris. This is not the lot of households with average or even higher average incomes. For him, living in Paris is even a little more unrealistic than ten years ago, when the lady arrived. In fact, we must understand that a form of progress begins in this way. When Paris will no longer be populated only by people who really have the means, for whom the automobile will have become a cheesy oddity good to leave to deadbeats and proles vegetating outside the walls, the capital of France will not be far from to have become the Paradise that the departing mayor dreams of. Another practical translation of the elected official's great ecological and hygienic concern, outdoor camping continues to develop, particularly in the north-northwest neighborhoods. Note, a detail worthy of interest, even praise, the strong international openness of the practice. People come there from beyond the seas, which contributes greatly to the prosperity of the itinerant trade mentioned above. Agents of the most reactionary conspiracists would spread the rumor that a hint of the beginning of delinquency would be linked to all this. However, the extremely scientific studies carried out by the mayor's services are still hesitant in the interpretation of the curves and statistics obligingly made available to them. Moving your butt to go and see what you see in the street, what you see there being everything you want, except scientific, of course, they abstain from it. Sleep well, people!
So Mrs. Hidalgo leaves. There is no doubt that she will quickly find another place of power and influence where she can exercise her remarkable talents. A job not too far away, so you can go there by bike. Then someone else will sit in their chair. She has designated a successor, who, we are told, is also an impetuous cyclist. Normal for these people. The current elected official arrived there on Bertrand Delanoë's luggage rack, the potential successor would arrive there on his. This is all admirable logic. We'll see. And then, as they have said for ages and ages, Paris will always be Paris. Of which act. But a little cleaner, it wouldn't be so bad.
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