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Anne Hidalgo: "We have to create ecological change"
Photo: THOMAS SAMSON / AFP
The Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo wants to become the new President of France.
The 62-year-old socialist officially announced her candidacy for the presidential election in April 2022 on Sunday in Rouen, northern France.
"I want all the children of France to have the same chance that I got," said Hildago.
"I am a candidate to offer our children, all of our children, a future."
Hidalgo, daughter of a worker and a seamstress, was born in Spain.
She is a member of the Socialist Party (PS) and has been the mayor of the capital since 2014.
The 62-year-old would be the first woman to head France and the first female president with dual citizenship.
Hidalgo said she wanted to "put an end to disdain" and restore "respect" in the country, an allusion to President Emmanuel Macron, whom his political opponents regularly accuse of arrogance.
She will put environmental protection at the center of her election campaign.
"We have to create ecological change," she said.
In the event of her election victory, she promised, among other things, a "five-year plan to move away from fossil fuels in our economy" and negotiations on higher wages.
Street cafes made out of parking lots
As mayor, Hidalgo has earned a reputation as a champion for more environmental protection. She had the cycle paths expanded, parking lots converted into street cafes and introduced Tempo 30 almost everywhere. Critics accuse her of showing no consideration for the residents of the Parisian suburbs and of not knowing enough about the French provinces.
According to current surveys, Hidalgo would only get seven to nine percent of the vote in the first ballot. This would be far from being enough to qualify for the second round of voting. In all likelihood, the decision will only be made in a runoff election. Macron and right-wing populist Marine Le Pen are currently considered promising candidates for such a duel. From the conservative camp, the former EU chief negotiator for Brexit, Michel Barnier, among others, has expressed his interest.
The 62-year-old Hidalgo has the support of PS party leader Olivier Faure, but will first face an internal area code.
In the past, the Paris City Hall served one of its predecessors, the conservative Jacques Chirac, as a stepping stone into the Elysée.
So far, almost 30 politicians have declared that they want to run for the presidential election in April 2022.
Incumbent Macron has not yet commented on this.
sep / dpa / AFP
