Paris Scooters Can't Outrun the Yellow Jackets
Mayor Anne Hidalgo is laudably trying to make her city green, but she needs to counter its image as an “elitist” target for struggling French workers.
Paris is taking the lead on climate change, but it needs to take the rest of France with it.
Photographer: BERTRAND GUAY/AFPThe sight of “yellow vest” protesters torching cars and smashing storefronts on some of the poshest avenues in Paris this month was a double-blow for the city’s Mayor Anne Hidalgo.
First, it was a clear hit to the image of Paris as a global magnet for talent, investment and technology. Hidalgo has spent much of the last two years talking up the French capital as a post-Brexit hub for bankers, leading the winning bid for the 2024 Olympics, and promoting women entrepreneurs in the tech sector. Now she’s more preoccupied with deploying anti-riot measures.