Hidalgo hasn’t been afraid to anger them, as she’s made her anti-car crusade a key part of her mayoral agenda. Before slowing down the Périph’, Hidalgo spearheaded a referendum earlier this year which hiked parking fees for heavy vehicles such as SUVs; closed the banks of the River Seine to traffic and limited access to the central Rue de Rivoli — which passes both city hall and the iconic Louvre — to authorized vehicles; and put in place a maximum speed limit of 30 kph on most roads in the city.
Some of those have proven popular with Parisians, especially closing the banks of the Seine — where roads that were once filled with cars are now popular spots for families, joggers, tourists and the odd flâneur.
“All of Hidalgo’s moves, like closing the roads which ran along the Seine banks, led to outrage, but the fact is, if any of her opponents were to take office, they wouldn’t go back on them,” a former French lawmaker said. The individual, who was granted anonymity to share their unvarnished perspective on a high-profile politician without repercussions, described some of these green initiatives as “policies of our time.”
But Hidalgo’s vision for a car-free Paris has clearly taken a toll on her popularity nationwide. When she ran for president in 2022, she received only 1.7 percent of the vote — the worst-ever performance for a Socialist Party candidate.
She is, the French lawmaker said, “one of the French personalities who provokes the strongest reactions.”
