Anne Hidalgo admits it herself, curves to support it. Insecurity in Paris? It "has increased enormously . " The cleanliness ? "I am not satisfied with the situation." Eleven days before the municipal elections, Wednesday evening, during a first courteous debate between seven candidates for the Town Hall, the outgoing mayor of Paris defended his local balance sheet, in his own way: by discarding himself on the government.
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"Where are the [national] police officers? We do not see any more on the ground, " launched the socialist from the outset, to the representative of the executive, the former Minister of Health Agnès Buzyn, invested at short notice leader of the "Walkers" in the capital, after the withdrawal of Benjamin Griveaux. The outgoing mayor added later, in response to attacks on the “dirty city” portrayed by his competitors: “Madame Buzyn's government has greatly reduced the city's finances”. A way to deplore a lack of means to fight incivility. "Totally wrong," replied Agnes Buzyn.
"Ideological methods"
But the strategy deployed by the outgoing mayor was not enough to escape the arrows of his competitors. His record is "disastrous" , in the eyes of the representative of the Republicans (LR), Rachida Dati. His traffic methods are "ideological" and "violent" in "the most congested city in France" , according to the macronist Agnès Buzyn. For the “dissident walker” Cédric Villani, she “concreted” the capital.
Faced with her adversaries, Anne Hidalgo has chosen to boast of the 20,000 trees planted under her mandate, the pedestrianization of the waterways on the banks, on the right bank of the Seine or even her promise of a city with 100% cycle streets, under the look from Europe Ecology-The Greens (EELV) candidate, David Belliard. "The policies of" 100% ", it does not work," says Rachida Dati. "People can't take it anymore , " insists Agnès Buzyn, who wants to develop the bus and the metro, by investing more than a billion euros in transport. "There's only, we have to" , according to Anne Hidalgo.
Social housing "for the middle classes"
His two opponents also overwhelmed, both the unarmed municipal police defended by the outgoing mayor. "The period has changed, we must take into account the violence of society," says Agnes Buzyn. An armed municipal police would act "in addition" to the national police, specifies Rachida Dati, favorable to the tripling of the number of "video protection" cameras, with the consent of Serge Federbusch, supported by the National Rally (RN).
Exception in a peaceful debate, where everyone was able to advance their proposals, a pass of arms opposed the candidates on the cost of housing. "Many here do not want social housing," said Anne Hidalgo. "If, for the middle classes , " interrupted Rachida Dati, convinced that "the left is a gargle of diversity", but "makes ghettos" .
Replica of the rebellious Danielle Simonnet, favorable to the transformation of empty housing into social housing, to the address of the mayor LR of the chic 7th arrondissement: "You fought to preserve ghettos of oneself, of people with high income ” . A rare burst of voice in this evening, which looks like a warm-up before the second debate, organized on March 10 by France Télévisions.