She transformed Paris for tourists — and divided the city | CNN

Anyone visiting Paris just over a decade ago would doubtless have been charmed by the city’s timeless attractions — brasseries serving delicious food, museums crammed with famous works of art, boulevards of chic stores — all overlooked by the sparkling lights of the Eiffel Tower. But despite being home to one of Europe’s busiest metro systems, they would’ve found Paris still very much ruled by la voiture. Back then, the French capital’s central road networks crawled with automobiles. Pedestrians were squeezed onto narrow sidewalks and, on the terraces of the city’s cafés, customers were served exhaust fumes with their coffee and croissant. Today, Paris is different. Tourists stroll more freely than ever on pedestrianized streets, breathing cleaner air. For those wanting to get around by bike, there are hundreds of miles of cycle lanes to transport them safely across town. Much of this is down to one woman: Anne Hidalgo, a Spanish immigrant who rose to become the city’s first female mayor, and one of its most dynamic in modern times. She’s now one of Paris’ most globally recognizable leaders, particularly following her symbolic swim in the Seine during the 2024