In Paris, Grégoire unveils his ambitions for a “better maintained” city and the “right to beauty”
Opinion (with AFP)
Paris – Acting on a thousand “black spots,” a “right to beauty” in all neighborhoods, better coordinated work… The new socialist mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, unveiled his project for public spaces on Monday, seen by the opposition as a mere “recycling” of old measures. “Parisians want a better maintained, cleaner, safer, and more pleasant city to live in daily,” said the successor and former deputy mayor of Anne Hidalgo during a press conference, expressing that he sometimes shares their “unhappiness.” The city is committed to acting as a priority on a thousand “black spots” where public spaces deteriorate: places with illegal dumps, station areas, “ultra-touristic areas” like Champ-de-Mars, Château-Rouge, and Barbès, he detailed in an interview with Le Figaro. “We have a map of these black spots that gives us a street-level approach. It’s very local,” explained Emmanuel Grégoire, who wants to strengthen cooperation with district mayors. The socialist mayor wants to continue the transformations initiated by Anne Hidalgo, particularly in terms of climate change adaptation, but with “enhanced requirements for the quality of execution and maintenance.” “Work must be better coordinated to limit nuisances,” he assures, with “clear and safe pathways throughout the duration of the works” and “better information” for residents and businesses. He also promises to combat “daily incivilities,” illegal street vendors, and non-compliant terraces. Pedestrians have “priority” The mayor, who wants to “protect Paris patrimonially,” also announces a “plan for the right to beauty in all neighborhoods.” With “increased attention to facades, floors, historical furniture, bridges, notably the Pont des Arts,” but also to the “ordinary heritage” that defines the identity of Paris. A “general delegate for design and aesthetics,” responsible for implementing this plan, will present a new chapter in the “manifesto of the beauty” of Paris. Emmanuel Grégoire wants to make pedestrian safety his “top priority,” ahead of cyclists, “with the goal of zero deaths, zero injuries.” “Cycling lanes on sidewalks will be eliminated,” he says. A specialized unit of the municipal police against motorized violence will also be created because “what kills in Paris are motorized vehicles,” he emphasized. Ensuring that his “mantra is not to be against cars,” he wants to increase to 25% the share of specialized surface parking spaces for people with reduced mobility, deliveries, artisans… and significantly reduce tourist bus traffic, aiming for their total ban within the city limits of Paris. The mayor also commits to creating 87 “pedestrian hearts,” as well as a continuous 25-km walk along the Seine riverbanks. In addition to deploying 15 express bus lines, he wants a “complete revision of bus routes” whose average speed has dropped, stating his availability to work “hand in hand” with the President of the Region, Valérie Pécresse (LR). The main outlines of the plan will be presented at the next ordinary Paris Council meeting next week. “Nothing new” Without specifying a budget, he said he wants to ensure “sobriety,” staying within the budgets allocated to the city’s public space policies, around 3.3 to 3.5 billion euros. “Without a budget line, nothing will happen,” reacted Emile Meunier, from the “Green People” group, to AFP. For this former majority representative, “this communication mostly looks like a catalog of good intentions that recycles directions already voted on, presented, or implemented in the previous term.” “There is not much new,” also criticized Grégory Canal, co-president with Rachida Dati of the main opposition group, who sees the appointment of an “aesthetic delegate” as “an admission that Paris has become less attractive under the previous term.” “What is worrying is that Grégoire wants us to believe that this plan will be carried out with a constant budget,” added the right-wing representative. Juliette COLLEN © Agence France-Presse
