Two long blue banners dressed with two yellow smileys, which wink, now cover the Paris City Hall. They have just been unveiled this Monday by Anne Hidalgo, the mayor (PS) of the capital, in a tweet, with these words: "City hall in solidarity with... ». Implicit support for the movement against the pension reform, on the eve of a 14th day of mobilization and three days before the examination of the proposal of the Liot group of deputies to repeal it.
"It's politics made with humour, but everyone gets the message. I am mayor of Paris, and as mayor of Paris, I carry a social and ecological message. I support the social movement and I affirm it," Hidalgo told AFP.
Town hall in solidarity with...#6juin #ReformesDesRetraites pic.twitter.com/hMWQJF16cD
— Anne Hidalgo (@Anne_Hidalgo) June 5, 2023
Last April, Anne Hidalgo was forced by the courts to remove banners that displayed a clearer message. On it was inscribed: "Town hall in solidarity with the social movement". But three members of the opposition group Changer Paris, Aurélien Véron, Nelly Garnier and Jean-Baptiste Olivier, had filed an application for interim relief before the Paris Administrative Court. On May 3, the administrative court had given 24 hours to the mayor of Paris to dismantle them. Under the principle of neutrality, support for protesters against the pension reform was deemed illegal. They were then withdrawn.
🚨 #AnneHidalgo therefore has no respect for Parisians.
Sanctioned by the courts, for illegal postings, after our referral, she allows herself to taunt the rules of law and all Parisians. At the taxpayer's expense too! https://t.co/xlXpyGTTU7
— Change Paris (@GpeChangerParis) June 5, 2023
A few minutes after the publication of Anne Hidalgo's tweet on Monday, reactions against these new banners have flared politicians and Internet users, denouncing both the support of the mayor of Paris to the demonstrators and a useless expenditure of money in their eyes.