The Ethics Commission of the city of Paris said on Friday (November 10th) that Mayor Anne Hidalgo's trip to the Pacific, mocked by the opposition, was "regular from an ethical point of view". His long trip, first official and then private, was heavily criticized by the right-wing opposition, mocking the carbon footprint and the cost of the trip.
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In the light of the information available to the Ethics Commission, it is considered that Anne Hidalgo made a professional trip to New Caledonia and Polynesia financed by the Paris community from the morning of 16 to 21 October 2023 as well as a private trip from the afternoon of 21 October to 5 November 2023 paid for with her personal funds, these trips are ethically regular," the Commission said, according to a press release from the City.
'No harm'
The trip by Ms. Hidalgo, accompanied by her deputies for Sports Pierre Rabadan and Overseas Jacques Martial, took place from October 16 to 22, according to the agenda sent on Monday, a posteriori, by the City, which had not until then officially communicated on the subject. According to the town hall, it was intended to evoke the Olympic Games, the surfing event of which is to be held at the Teahupoo site in Tahiti. But the mayor did not visit the site in person, being represented by Pierre Rabadan, the mayor's office acknowledged in the statement on Monday, explaining that this decision had been taken "at the request of Polynesian President" Moetai Brotherson, due to "local tensions".
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It is noted that part of the programme was not carried out by the Mayor of Paris but by Pierre Rabadan, in his capacity as deputy (...) in charge of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, as of the afternoon of 21 October. Thus, the City of Paris did not finance the personal and private activity of the Mayor of Paris with public funds and did not suffer any prejudice," the Ethics Commission said. In a statement, the Changer Paris group of Republican, centrist and independent mayoral mayors said it was surprised that the commission, "whose members are appointed by the mayor (...) waited for his return to deliberate, whereas his main function is to prevent any offence or conflict of interest'.
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Beyond ethical considerations, (...) Mrs. Hidalgo left the city she is in charge of for three weeks, this is a fault with regard to Paris," said Pierre-Yves Bournazel, mayor of the 18th arrondissement.