PARIS (Reuters) – Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo responded to criticism of her trip to French Polynesia by publishing a list of meetings she attended and although she did not visit the Olympic surfing site in Tahiti, she said her deputy in charge of sports did.
The surfing events at next year’s Paris Olympic Games will be held in Tahiti. Hidalgo’s trip was presented as an inspection of the facilities but no photographs were published and her political opponents described it as a “holiday”.
Hidalgo stayed a week in the overseas territories of Nouvelle Caledonie and Tahiti and extended her visit for personal reasons.
“The Mayor of Paris extended her official trip with private time at her own expense. Anne Hidalgo returned home on Sunday 5 November, paying for her own ticket. Return tickets for the rest of the delegation were paid for by the City of Paris,” the Paris City Hall said in a statement.
Hidalgo landed in Noumea on Oct. 16 before attending over a dozen meetings and events in Nouvelle Caledonie and Tahiti.
“Oct. 22: Pierre Rabadan visits the Teahupo’o Olympic surfing venue with Pascal Luciana (Paris 2024/Polynesia),” the statement added.
“The cost of transport for the entire delegation of three elected representatives and the three staff members accompanying them amounted to 40,955 euros for all the flights from Paris to Noumea (with a stopover in Tokyo)/Ile des Pins/Noumea/Papeete (with a stopover in Auckland)/ Paris,” it added.
“This trip was organised in accordance with the practices in force in the three territorial public services… The Mayor of Paris went beyond these considerations, as she decided to finance her return ticket out of her own pocket.”
The Paris Olympics will be held from July 26-Aug. 11.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Ed Osmond)
