Workaholic with a square

The mayor of Paris for the first time became a woman

Ann Idalgo at a meeting with voters. Paris, March 27, 2014
In the March 30 elections, the 54-year-old socialist Ann Idalgo received almost 54% of the vote. Her victory in the capital can be considered compensation for socialists against the backdrop of voting throughout the country. When Idalgo appeared in front of the crowd of fans after the announcement of the results of the mayor’s elections, her voice trembled, tears appeared in her eyes. “I will be the mayor for all Parisians,” she promised solemnly, before reading a formal greeting to her opponent in the elections, also a woman-Natalie Kostyshko-Moriza. And in conclusion, simple, but decisive: "For work!" Actually, this is exactly what everyone knows. Ann - Selfh Made Wumen, a patient and responsible workaholic who firmly believes that nothing in life is just given. For many years, she climbed up the career ladder, never stumbled - the enemies for a reason call her a “apparatchian”, devoid of charisma. Since 2001, Ann has been in the shadow of her boss, ex-mayor of Paris Bertrand Delainoe-was his first deputy. These elections brought her into the world - her election campaign lasted 18 months. Although, by and large, Ann Idalgo raised upstairs a social elevator, which in those years when she took the first steps in politics, at the turn of the 80-90s, still worked.
“Flated to all buttons” a brunette with a short haircut of Kare, like Mireira Mathieu (now they will say, “like Mathieu and Idalgo”), she was born black as coals in 1959 in Spain, in the Andalusian town of San Fernando. Two years later, her parents fled from the Franco regime to French Lyon. Ann’s childhood and youth passed in the Lyon’s working area of ​​La Ducher, she received French citizenship at 14 years old. Then-a diploma in the field of social sciences, work as an inspector on labor issues ... An impeccable track record without intrigues and scandals: the mother of three children, being married to a socialist deputy Jean-Marcom Gemymen, Ann zealously protects her private life. In her life, there is no place for lovers in the closet and secret children - Parisians appreciated this righteousness and modesty.
True, only one question remains: how will it lead Paris? Will she give her position a shade of femininity, or, if you want, feminism? After all, its feminist activity has been known since the time when she worked as a consultant at the Ministry of Rights of Women. And in the city hall, Ann for some time led the department of gender equality.
For the rest, Idalgo will certainly clearly follow the policy of his predecessor Delainoe, who paid special attention to issues of urbanism, reducing the number of cars in the city, social housing and preschool institutions. By the way, Ann promised to solve these problems primarily in her election program. Whether she will keep promises, show the future.

The mayor of Paris is held in accordance with the Law of December 31, 1982 (PML), which concerns the most densely populated cities of France - Paris, Marseille and Lyon. Here, local elections are held according to a special model. Initially, elections of district councils consisting of advisers and deputies are held. Then, part of the district deputies and advisers receive urban status. And already city advisers choose 163 members of the Council of Paris, who already elects the mayor of the city during the municipal elections. The elections of members of the Council of Paris are held on the basis of universal direct vote according to a proportional system - that is, deputy mandates are distributed between the lists of candidates in proportion to the votes for these lists. This means that with a lack of votes set for him, one or another candidate for members of the Council can nevertheless win at the expense of the votes attributable to his party list. This system largely resembles the election of the US president - it is no coincidence that members of the Council of Paris are called "French electors." The number of members of the Council voting for a specific candidate for mayor is known in advance - based on the results of the counting of votes in the municipal elections. In the 2014 elections, out of 163 members of the Council of Paris 91, he turned out to be a representative of the social party and only 72 from the right. Thus, the mayor of the city went to the socialist Ann Idalgo.

Photo: Panoramic/Zuma Press/ITAR-TASS