“The central question is that of a potential embezzlement of public funds for this trip to Polynesia, of knowing whether Ms. Hidalgo was off the mark,” says David Alphand, deputy vice-president of the opposition group Changer Paris and LR advisor. of the 16th arrondissement. “We go from revelation to revelation. Every evening, as in The 1,001 and Nights, there is a new little story. We are waiting until we have exhausted the stock to act accordingly.”
Far from putting out the fire caused by the trip to New Caledonia and Tahiti of a delegation of six people, including Anne Hidalgo and her two deputies for Sports and Overseas, Pierre Rabadan and Jacques Martial, the city press release released last night even seems to have blown on still burning ashes.
“There are no particular problems,” breathes an annoyed Pierre Rabadan from the trip to the South Pacific, and questioned this Tuesday by 20 minutes. There are many trips of this type that we are not asked to justify. But every time we do, we justify them. This is just political manipulation. Some echo it to create controversy. But this is today’s society, we start from nothing much, where everything has been done according to the rules, and we make a controversy out of it.” However, certain points are debated, in particular his visit, ultimately postponed and canceled, to the Teahupo’o site where the surfing events will take place during the 2024 Olympics.
Lack of transparency
If in the press release published yesterday evening, the Paris town hall details at length the content of the days on site, and gives details on the total cost of the trip, the question of transparency still arises: why did Anne Hidalgo not have officially informed the Parisians, in advance, about such a trip, nor posted a single tweet during the six days in New Caledonia and Tahiti, she who regularly uses this social network for her communication?
“The press release digs deep and tries to patch up what can be patched up regarding the storytelling of its movement. But in reality, it does not answer the basic questions at all: the main one is to know whether there has been misappropriation of the means and money of the city of Paris,” asserts David Alphand, municipal councilor of the opposition, recalling that there is “no transparency on the agenda of the mayor of Paris”.
Anne Hidalgo, accompanied by her two deputies, and three collaborators worked according to the press release published Monday, on three files: “the White Night, a cultural event which will be placed in 2024 “under the symbol of Overseas”; “climate emergency”, Anne Hidalgo “having proposed to the mayors of New Caledonia and Polynesia to join the delegation of the International Association of Francophone Mayors (AIMF), which she will lead as president during the COP28 in Dubai”; and the Olympic Games, the surfing event of which must be held at the Teahupo’o site in Tahiti.
No visit to the surf site in Teahupo’o lagoon
New problem on this last point: Anne Hidalgo ultimately did not visit the surf site. The reason ? A last minute postponement of this trip from October 21 to 22, due to strong social unrest on the site, according to Pierre Rabadan. In Tahiti, anger has been brewing for several weeks over the construction of a 14 meter high aluminum tower in the Teahupo’o lagoon. It is due to host judges and media during surfing events in July 2024 but, according to the citizens mobilized since the beginning of October, threatens local fauna and flora, particularly corals.
However, on October 22, Anne Hidalgo had to take a plane to join her daughter on an island in Tahiti, and begin her private vacation. On Friday, the Paris town hall assured the Parisian, that on the visit of October 22, it had been decided “by mutual agreement with the local authorities so as not to rekindle tensions”, that the mayor of Paris would not go there, and that she would be represented by his deputy for Sports, Pierre Rabadan. The municipal opposition does not fail to emphasize the incongruity of this failed act.
“When she almost arrives at the beach, she turns back because it no longer interests her. The defense of the corals is not even an argument for her because on Sunday she has something else to do,” the elected LR is indignant, “knowing that checks had already been carried out on this site two months ago with the visit of Tony Estanguet, Cojop and the Minister of Sports on site”. “Everything seems to be converging towards an alibi trip,” he adds.
A carbon and accounting footprint far from exemplary
To clear her customs, the mayor of Paris nevertheless announced in her press release on Monday that she had referred the matter to the ethics commission. “We gave very transparent and clear explanations. There is no vocation to do more than that. It’s one thing for political parties to manipulate it, but for the media to continue on this, it doesn’t make sense,” Pierre Rabadan gets carried away. And yet, the opposition does not understand “why the ethics officer’s opinion did not appear with yesterday’s press release, if Ms. Hidalgo grasped it when she was preparing her trip several weeks ago.”
Likewise, she underlines, through the voice of David Alphand, “that the most economical solution in terms of carbon footprint is videoconferencing! Having discussions with municipal authorities and the president of Polynesia can perfectly be done by video.” Since she did not even visit the site of the surfing events, the argument is implacable… “In terms of public accounting, there is no justification for her to only cover the cost of the return ticket. For us, it is an admission of guilt,” concludes the LR elected official from the 16th arrondissement, not about to give up on a flower necklace costing almost 60,000 euros. This promises us a warm atmosphere at the next Paris council, next week.