Anne Hidalgo comes from a long line of socialists in Spain, from which her family fled to escape political persecution. Hidalgo, who now holds dual French and Spanish citizenship, was born in Cadiz, Spain, but has lived in Lyon, France since she was a young girl.
Hidalgo has held office as the mayor of Paris since 2014, over which period of time she has met plenty of challenges. One year after taking the spotlight in the City of Lights, Paris underwent a series of devastating terrorist attacks that left the entire country reeling. She led the city through the anti-government Yellow Vest protest movement, then watched alongside the rest of her countrymen as the iconic Notre Dame cathedral was engulfed in flames. Soon after, the global COVID-19 pandemic took over, grinding tourism and daily life to a halt.
Hidalgo helped Paris through a few collective traumas, but also offered a handful of positive headlines for a city that had seen a lot. She hosted the COP 21 Summit, which paved the way for the 2015 Paris Climate Accords. Hidalgo also led Paris through a successful bid to host the 2024 Olympics, which will hopefully provide a much-anticipated revival for the city’s tourism industry as it still struggles to recover from the pandemic.
Hidalgo is a very environmentally minded leader, and has spearheaded a handful of programs within the city to cut waste and improve air quality. Specific areas of the city have been declared car-free zones on certain days of the month, and Hidalgo has pushed for increasing bike lanes as well as overall public transportation improvement. Some see a run for presidency as a far-fetched plan, as current president Emmanuel Macron has already announced he will run again in 2024. However, Macron has become increasingly unpopular, especially with the younger demographic, who are much more likely to vote for a leader with strong environmental policies in place. The full list of candidates will not be revealed until this winter, but will likely also include far-right National Rally leader Marine le Pen.