

However, her grandparents returned to Spain some time later. Her paternal grandfather was a Spanish Socialist who became a refugee in France after the end of the Spanish Civil War along with his wife and his four children. Hidalgo was born in San Fernando, province of Cádiz, Spain. She came tenth out of twelve candidates, with 1.75% of the vote, the lowest result for a Socialist candidate in a French presidential election in history.Įarly life and education Family background and youth On 12 September 2021, Hidalgo announced her candidacy in the 2022 presidential election, despite her pledge in 2020 to serve a full second term as Mayor of Paris. By January 2021, a number of Hidalgo's policies have gained international attention, such as her proposal to remove over half of Paris's car parking spaces and turn the Champs-Élysées into a "fantastic garden". While the COVID-19 pandemic led to a record low voter turnout, she was reelected although failed to secure an absolute majority of the vote.ĭuring her second term as Mayor of Paris, Hidalgo has overseen the city's response to the COVID-19 pandemic, implementing measures such as nightly curfews, closure of non-essential shops and the introduction of 50 kilometres (31 mi) of pop-up cycle lanes known as "coronapistes" to ease pressure on public transport. In April 2019 she oversaw the disaster recovery efforts for the Notre-Dame de Paris fire. First Deputy Mayor Bruno Julliard resigned in 2018, criticising Hidalgo's style of governance. Her popularity declined following several instances of alleged mismanagement, to the point that polls showed a majority of voters did not want her to win a second term in 2020. Her first term as Mayor of Paris was marked by the January 2015 Charlie Hebdo shooting and November 2015 Paris attacks, including the Bataclan theatre massacre which she witnessed the aftermath of, first-hand. She was elected to the mayoralty in 2014 after Delanoë announced he would not seek a third term. Hidalgo served as First Deputy Mayor of Paris under Mayor Bertrand Delanoë (2001–2014), having held the title of Councillor of Paris since the 2001 municipal election. Ana María " Anne" Hidalgo Aleu ( French pronunciation: , Spanish: born 19 June 1959) is a Spanish-French politician who has served as Mayor of Paris since 2014, the first woman to hold the office.
