Hidalgo’s expense reports for the year 2017 (finally) revealed – RT in French

The Dutch journalist Stefan de Vries obtained, after five years of struggle, the expense reports of the mayor of Paris for the year 2017. Between trips, receptions and luxury dresses, RT France takes stock of their content.

After a long standoff that had lasted since 2018, the Dutch journalist, Stefan de Vries, who was trying to find out the cost incurred by the taxpayer for the awarding of the 2024 Olympic Games, finally won his case and was able to access the notes. expenses of the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, and her team, for the year 2017.

After having been refused an end to receive during his initial request, the journalist had decided to take legal action, the Council of State ending up giving him reason in February of this year. He was therefore able to consult these famous documents on March 17, as he reports in a tweet the same day.

The Sunday Journal (JDD) in its edition of March 19, which also had access to these expense reports, underlines that since 2014, the mayor of Paris has had a budget for representation costs of 19,720 euros (excluding reservation of trains or planes , hotels and restaurants during her travels) and, that in 2017, Anne Hidalgo would have spent almost all of this sum having reimbursed, at the beginning of 2018, the “unused balance” of a value of 34.53 euros .

Many trips abroad

Among the expenses of the socialist, there would be seventeen trips outside France between January and September, including one to Barcelona (for an amount of 260.86 euros) to attend a football match or one in Switzerland (1,091.19 euros) to go to the Davos Forum.

Airline ticket prices are not very high. We see that the mayor does not travel first class!

Anne Hidalgo would also have traveled to Tokyo, Japan, from February 25 to March 1, to meet the members of the Olympic Committee (8,951.95 euros), in Switzerland again, but this time in Lausanne, in July, for the presentation of the candidacy of Paris (10,945.37 euros) and finally in Lima, Peru, on September 13 for the ceremony during which the city chosen for the organization of the Olympic Games was to be announced (10,945.37 euros ).

Asked about this by the JDDYves Charpenel, who chairs the Ethics Commission for elected officials of the Paris Council, explains to the weekly that “nothing [le] shock in this document”. “What matters to me is that the costs incurred are related to the exercise of the mandate. I would add that the prices of plane tickets are not very high. We see that the mayor does not travel first class!”, he adds.

Receptions and luxury dresses

Concerning the other expenses of Anne Hidalgo, two receptions would have been organized at the town hall, on January 7 and July 7, for respective amounts of 781.20 euros and 3,000 euros. However, it is impossible in the current state of knowing who would have participated in these receptions.

In addition, still between January and September, the mayor of Paris would have acquired three Dior dresses (4,468 euros), two Diane Von Fürstenberg dresses (2,555 euros), as well as Minelli shoes (109 euros) or another blue Apostrophe coat (650 euros).

His cabinet clarifies with the JDD : “The mayor of Paris embodies France abroad. She must represent French culture and haute couture, like the first lady or the ministers. But these aren’t $10,000 dresses. Plus, she reuses them.”

His entourage, quoted by the weekly, denounces a “misplaced curiosity” and a “populist voyeurism” which could lead, according to him, to “unjustified controversies”. He also regrets that this obligation to publish his expense reports could open “the breach […] for the other elect.

“We considered that these documents were only communicable to the financial judges of the Regional Chamber of Accounts [CRC]“, concludes his office with the JDD.

Critics in the political class

Still, these revelations have sparked reactions in the political class, the MEP Identity and Democracy (ID) Gilbert Collard criticizing on Twitter “the social hypocrite[ste] in its finest finery” and calling for the resignation of the elected.

Aurélien Véron, elected opposition member of the Council of Paris, castigated him, on the same social network, the coverage of these expense reports by the JDDaccusing him of “relativizing” the affair and making “propaganda”.