Paris mayor spends public money on haute couture in bid for Olympics

Paris mayor spends public money on haute couture in bid for Olympics

A Dutch journalist took legal action to obtain Anne Hidalgo's expense report on her campaign for hosting the 2017 Olympic Games. As the document revealed, the left-wing mayor made trips abroad and bought designer fashions on taxpayers' money. Ms Hidalgo's office said that all expenses were justified.

WORLD POLITICS MARCH 21. 2023 16:29

The mayor of Paris spent every last cent of the 20 thousand euros in public funds at her disposal, her expense report for 2017 shows. Anne Hidalgo’s office released the files upon the order of the State Council after a five-year-long legal procedure.

Dutch journalist Stefan de Vries requested the documents from the left-wing city administration back in 2018 in order to find out how much taxpayers’ money was spent on the campaign to win the right to host the Olympic games. However, Anne Hidalgo refused the request and a legal dispute ensued.

Stefan de Vries took to Twitter to announce the breakthrough and that after more than 5 years, he finally has the budget statements of Anne Hidalgo and her cabinet for 2017. Thus, the investigation can continue. The Dutch journalist tagged the post with the words „jurisprudence” and „transparency”.

Reporting on the issue, the French weekly Le Journal du Dimanche (JDD) highlighted that Anne Hidalgo fully spent almost all of the 20 thousand euros allocated. The invoices cover 19.720 euros, according to the information obtained by the weekly.

Regarding expenses, the socialist mayor mainly spent on clothes and travel. She made a total of 17 trips abroad during the period under review. Some of the trips were low-cost ones, such as a Paris-Barcelona round trip for 260 euros while other journeys cost more, such as a one-week stay in Tokyo, where the left-wing mayor and her entourage met members of the Olympic Committee. This trip cost French taxpayers 8.951 euros. As the announcement of which city would win the right to host the Olympic Games took place in Lima, Anne Hidalgo also made a trip to Peru, which cost 11 thousand euros.

Regarding the trips, Yves Charpenel, head of the ethics committee of the Paris council, told the paper that the costs incurred were directly linked to the fulfilment of the mayor’s tasks, and added that airfare had not been excessively high and Anne Hidalgo had not taken first class.

The mayor also bought clothes from the budget earmarked for the Olympic bid. She purchased pieces from the creations of Dior and Courreges, three from the former for 1188, 1840 and 1440 euros, and one from the latter at 720 euros. Her cabinet justified the purchases by saying that the mayor of Paris represented France abroad, so her appearance was important. They added that during such events, she must represent French culture and haute couture, similar to the first lady and the ministers. Ms Hidalgo’s staff emphasized that the pieces were not in the 10,000-euro price range, and she would be able to wear them at other events.

JDD also called attention to the fact that restaurant bills are not among Anne Hidalgo’s invoices, so the mayor of Paris did not host influential personalities of the Olympic community who may have had a say in the awarding of the right to host the event. There was, however, a reception at City Hall which amounted to some 3 thousand euros in catering for the one hundred guests invited.

An article by TF1, which also reported on the topic, reveals that in March 2021, the Paris administrative court had already granted Stefan de Vries’s request, ordering the Paris City Hall to hand over the requested documents to the Dutch journalist. The City then appealed to the Council of State to repeal the decision. However, the City Hall subsequently lost the case against the journalist, after the Council of State ruled that the receipts for travel and representation expenses incurred by local representatives or public officials are administrative documents which can be viewed by anyone upon request.

WORLD POLITICS

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anne hidalgo, expenses, france, olimpic games 2024, paris, taxpayers money