“Shameful”, a “political betrayal”… On RTLthis Sunday, the Minister of Transport Clément Beaune said he did not appreciate the comments of the mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo on the unpreparedness of Parisian public transport to absorb the 800,000 additional travelers linked to the Olympic Games in the summer of 2024.
The Minister of Transport went even further by describing Anne Hidalgo as a “bad mayor of Paris”, and also confirming his personal interest in “one day” becoming a candidate for municipal elections in the capital.
“We will meet this historic challenge”
“Will the infrastructure be ready on time? Yes. Is there still work? yes,” added Clément Beaune, like Ms. Hidalgo, from the Socialist Party. Interviewed on the show Daily on TMC this week, the mayor of Paris spoke of “two things for which we are not going to be ready”, namely “transport” and “sheltering people without a fixed home”. In particular, it targeted the future Porte Maillot RER E station, an area where many activities linked to the Olympic Games will be concentrated. “We are on time and we will meet this historic challenge,” replied the Minister of Transport. “Metro line 14 “will be extended to the North and South, it’s on time,” he detailed, judging that the Porte Maillot station would also be ready.
Clément Beaune regretted that the mayor of Paris did not participate in the monthly committee of all the actors involved in these issues. Valérie Pécresse, president of the Ile-de-France region and Ile-de-France Mobilités (IDFM) “comes to work every time, Ms. Hidalgo never,” noted Clément Beaune.
open war
Furthermore confirming his interest in a personal political commitment “later” in Paris, with a view to the next municipal elections, he continued: “I will not let go of this commitment to Paris, I did not choose this place at random (…) , it’s where I was born, it’s the place where I live, it’s the place where I want to get involved.”
“I don’t believe” that Anne Hidalgo “is a good mayor of Paris,” insisted Mr. Beaune at the end of the program. “When we are ready to sacrifice the image of France to put an end to a controversy on a doubtful subject (a controversy surrounding a trip by the mayor of Paris to Polynesia), we are no match for France” , scolded the minister.