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Although critics pointed out that Paris was dirty, lacking public transportation and unsafe before the opening of the Olympics, the mayor of the French capital, Anne Hidalgo, is now using the success of the 33rd Olympic Games to restore her image in preparation for municipal elections in 2026.
Since the opening of the Olympics on July 26, 2024, it seems that nothing can derail the event. Despite the controversy that arose before the opening of the world’s largest sporting event, the Paris Olympics was a huge success.
On July 17, Paris Socialist Mayor Anne Hidalgo (PS, S&D) successfully bathed in the heavily polluted Seine River in Paris because Finally meeting European cleanliness requirementsbecoming the venue for the Olympic triathlon and marathon swimming events.
Hidalgo ended years of ridicule by people who didn’t believe it was possible. He succeeded in meeting a challenge that many French politicians had failed to overcome, including former Paris mayor Jacques Chirac, who promised in 1988 and 1990 that the Seine would be clean enough to swim in “within three years” but never achieved it during his term.
The total cost of cleaning the Seine is estimated at €1.4 billion, which is borne by her opponent in the Paris mayoral election, the current Culture Minister Rachida Dati (LR, EPP). criticize.
A political victory over the far right
“The far-right narrative has been crushed by these matches and the opening ceremony.” Mayor of Paris Tell Le Monde conducted two interviews on August 2 and 5.
In her opinion, the criticism she received on the eve of the Olympics was “Reactionary planet and far right (…) Why? Because Paris is the city of all freedoms, a refuge for LGBTQI+ people, a city where people live together, a city with a female mayor, a left-wing mayor, a foreign mayor with dual nationality, a feminist mayor and an environmentalist mayor.”
Hidalgo, who holds dual French and Spanish citizenship, is settling political scores with Jordan Bardella’s far-right National Union party (European Patriots).
During the campaign for the French parliamentary elections in June and July, Bardella said he supported Deny dual nationals access to senior French government postsexcept for EU citizens.
Anne Hidalgo also took the opportunity to criticize the populists’ normalization strategy.
“All populists, whether far right, liberal or far left, come in through the same door: undermining and destroying images, emphasizing small facts or real facts, thus amplifying negative messages.” she told Le Monde.
Hopes for the Olympics
For Hidalgo, left-wing parties must take advantage of the good factors brought about by the Olympics.
“We must work together to understand our collective strength and we cannot give up. This collective strength is also reflected in the celebrations.” she said.
The New Popular Front (NFP), a coalition of left-wing parties including communists and socialists, is still waiting for President Macron to take over. Nominated candidate Lucie Castets He became Prime Minister after early parliamentary elections.
Marine Tondelier (Party of Ecologists, Greens), François Ruffin (former Parti de l’Ouverture, Left), Raphaël Glucksmann (Parti de la Square Public, Social Democrats) and former French President François Hollande (Parti Socialiste, Social Democrats) are also working to shape the French political landscape as summer approaches.
As for Hidalgo, she lost political clout in the 2022 presidential election, when she won just 1.75% of the vote in the first round. She may be considering using the success of the Paris Olympics as a platform to run for a third term as mayor of Paris in 2026.
(Editing by Rajnish Singh)
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