Anne Hidalgo facts for kids

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal family name is Hidalgo and the second or maternal family name is Aleu.

Quick facts for kids Anne Hidalgo
Official portrait, 2014

Mayor of Paris
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 April 2014
Deputy	Bruno Julliard Emmanuel Grégoire Patrick Bloche
Preceded by	Bertrand Delanoë
First Deputy Mayor of Paris
In office 18 March 2001 – 5 April 2014
Mayor	Bertrand Delanoë
Preceded by	Jacques Dominati
Succeeded by	Bruno Julliard
Councillor of Paris
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 March 2001
Constituency	15th arrondissement (2001–2020) 11th arrondissement (2020–present)

Personal details
Born	Ana María Hidalgo Aleu (1959-06-19) 19 June 1959 (age 66) San Fernando, Andalusia, Spain
Citizenship	France Spain
Political party	Socialist Party
Spouses	Philippe Jantet (divorced) Jean-Marc Germain (m. 2004)
Children	3
Residence	Hôtel de Ville de Paris
Alma mater	Jean Moulin University Lyon 3 Paris West University Nanterre La Défense
Signature

Ana María "Anne" Hidalgo Aleu was born on June 19, 1959. She is a Spanish-French politician. Since 2014, she has been the Mayor of Paris, which means she is the leader of the city. She is the first woman to hold this important job. Anne Hidalgo is a member of the Socialist Party in France.

Before becoming Mayor, she was the First Deputy Mayor of Paris from 2001 to 2014. She was elected Mayor in 2014. During her time as Mayor, she started many projects to improve Paris. She also helped the city deal with big events like the 2024 Summer Olympics and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Early Life and Studies

Family Background

Anne Hidalgo was born in San Fernando, a town in Spain. Her family moved to France in 1961 when she was very young. They were looking for better opportunities. They settled in Lyon, a big city in France.

Anne grew up speaking Spanish at home with her parents and French with her sister. When she was 14, she became a French citizen. Later, she also got her Spanish citizenship back, so now she is a citizen of both France and Spain.

Education

Anne Hidalgo studied law at two universities in France. She earned a master's degree in social law from Jean Moulin University Lyon 3. She also completed another advanced degree at Paris West University Nanterre La Défense.

Working Life and Early Politics

Labour Inspector

After finishing her studies, Anne Hidalgo became a labour inspector in 1984. A labour inspector checks that workplaces follow the rules and treat their employees fairly. She worked in this role in different parts of France, including Paris.

Working in Government Offices

From 1997 to 2002, Anne Hidalgo worked for different government ministers. She helped them with important topics like women's rights, job training, and making sure men and women were treated equally at work.

Political Career

Becoming a Councillor

In 2001, Anne Hidalgo was elected as a Councillor of Paris. This meant she became a member of the city council, which helps run the city. For the first time in many years, the left-wing parties had the most seats on the council.

First Deputy Mayor of Paris

The new Mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë, chose Anne Hidalgo to be his First Deputy Mayor. This was a very important role. She was in charge of things like making sure there was equality between men and women in the city. In 2002, she even acted as Mayor when Bertrand Delanoë was recovering from an injury.

Mayor of Paris

In 2012, Anne Hidalgo announced she wanted to become the next Mayor of Paris. She was elected in 2014, becoming the first woman ever to hold this position.

During her first term, she started a program called "Réinventer Paris" (Reinvent Paris). This program aimed to give new life to old or unused buildings and areas in the city. She also created a way for citizens to suggest and vote on projects to improve their neighborhoods.

In 2019, she led the efforts to help Paris recover after the terrible fire at Notre-Dame de Paris.

Second Term and Key Initiatives

Anne Hidalgo was reelected as Mayor in 2020. During her second term, she focused on making Paris more environmentally friendly and easier to live in.

COVID-19 Response: She helped Paris respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. She introduced new bike lanes, called "coronapistes", to help people travel safely and reduce pressure on public transport.
15-Minute City: One of her main ideas is the "15-minute city" (Ville Du Quart D'Heure). This means that people should be able to reach everything they need – like shops, schools, parks, and doctors – within a 15-minute walk or bike ride from their home. This idea aims to reduce car use and make neighborhoods more self-sufficient.
Reducing Car Use: She has worked to reduce the number of cars in Paris. This includes plans to remove many parking spaces and turn parts of the city, like the famous Champs-Élysées, into greener areas with more space for walking and cycling.
2024 Summer Olympics: Paris hosted the 2024 Summer Olympics during her time as Mayor. The opening ceremony was held on the Seine River, which was a first in modern Olympic history.

Presidential Election 2022

In 2021, Anne Hidalgo announced she would run for President of France in the 2022 French presidential election. She came in tenth place out of twelve candidates.

Political Views

Environmental Issues

Anne Hidalgo is very focused on protecting the environment and making Paris a greener city.

Paris Respire (Paris Breathes): In 2016, she started a program to fight air pollution. This included banning cars from certain areas on the first Sunday of every month and making public transport free on those days.
More Bike Lanes: She has worked to create many more bike lanes across Paris to encourage people to cycle instead of drive.
Champs-Élysées Renovation: She approved a big project to make the Champs-Élysées more green and pedestrian-friendly, with fewer cars.

Housing

One of Anne Hidalgo's top goals is to provide more affordable housing in Paris. She aims for 30% of housing in Paris to be "social housing" (affordable homes) by 2030.

Foreign Issues

Anne Hidalgo has spoken about international events. For example, she said that Israeli athletes should not be banned from the Summer Olympics because Israel is a democracy. However, she called for Russian and Belarusian athletes to be banned because of the war in Ukraine.

She also decided not to attend a climate conference in Azerbaijan in 2024. She explained this was because of the Azerbaijani government's actions against Armenians in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.

Personal Life

Anne Hidalgo is married to politician Jean-Marc Germain. They have one child together, Arthur Germain. Arthur is known for being the youngest Frenchman to swim the English Channel. Anne also has two older children from a previous marriage.

Anne Hidalgo was raised Catholic but is now an atheist, meaning she does not believe in a god.