Jacques Chirac lived in the Hotel de Ville for 18 years, but Bertrand Delanoe turned the apartment into a nursery and Anne Hidalgo stayed in her own flat in the 15th, leaving Paris with the rare sight of a politician declining a palace
A Palace With A Vacancy
PARIS. The Mayor of Paris is technically entitled to an official residence inside the Hotel de Ville, but recent mayors have not lived there, according to Sortiraparis on whether the Mayor of Paris actually lives in City Hall. Jacques Chirac, mayor from 1977 to 1995, lived there with his family for 18 years, and Jean Tiberi stayed until 2001. Bertrand Delanoe, mayor from 2001 to 2014, broke with tradition and converted the apartment into a nursery, with half the places reserved for city staff. Anne Hidalgo never occupied the residence, staying in her apartment in the 15th arrondissement, and has been turning three salons into a shelter for homeless women.
In a city where people queue for hours to visit apartments of 18 square metres with a shower in the kitchen, the idea of a free palace with a view of the Seine going unused strikes many Parisians as the most shocking political scandal in years.
Parisian Disbelief
A student who rents a converted maid’s room on the seventh floor of a building without a lift in the 11th arrondissement was stunned. I pay 750 euros a month for nine square metres, he said. I can touch both walls without moving. My bed is also my sofa, my desk and my dining room. And the mayor has a palace and does not live in it. If the mayor wants a flatmate, I am clean, quiet and I can bring my own croissants.
A Paris estate agent said she would struggle to value such a property. An apartment inside the Hotel de Ville, she said, with reception rooms, river views and gilded ceilings? The price would not have enough zeros. But I would describe it as a charming historic residence, a short walk from work, with excellent security.
The Chirac Years
Jacques Chirac’s 18 years in the residence remain part of Paris political folklore. Historians note that he combined the role of mayor with national ambitions and later became Prime Minister and President. A retired City Hall employee recalled that era fondly. In those days, the mayor really lived above the shop, he said. If there was a problem at three in the morning, he was upstairs. Today, the mayor has to take the metro like everyone else. It is more democratic. It is also slower.
The Nursery Solution
Delanoe’s decision to convert the apartment into a nursery has been widely praised as a practical use of public space. Childcare places are precious in Paris, and parents who work for the city gained access to a nursery inside one of the most beautiful buildings in France. A mother who works in the city administration said her daughter had spent her first years there. She learned to walk under a chandelier, she said. Now she is five and she complains that our apartment has no gold on the ceiling. I have created a monster.
And Now Gregoire
Emmanuel Gregoire, elected mayor in March, inherits the same question. Sortiraparis notes that reclaiming the space would be difficult given the changes made under his predecessors. A political commentator suggested he leave it alone. In French politics, he said, there is nothing more dangerous than a politician moving into a palace. Ask Louis XVI. Much safer to commute.
The Last Word
On the square in front of the Hotel de Ville, a tour guide pointed up at the ornate facade and explained that the mayor could, in theory, live there. A tourist from Lyon asked why anyone would refuse. The guide smiled. Because in Paris, she said, the moment you move into a palace, people start asking who is paying the heating bill. The tourist nodded slowly. That, he said, is the most Parisian answer I have ever heard.