A Fair-Weather Friend

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Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, is staunch in her advocacy for her city and for the French Republic. She’s willing to do anything required, including taking Fox News to court, to ensure that the honor of Paris remains unsullied.

After the Charlie Hebdo massacre in January, Ms. Hidalgo was emphatic in her defense of free speech and the right of satirists to make fun of anyone they wish. All that changed, however, when the mayorette herself became the butt of satirical caricatures.

Many thanks to Oz-Rita for this translation from Riposte Laïque, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

The translator includes these notes:

In July, the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, opened the doors of the town hall exclusively to Muslims and celebrated with them the Ramadan and so violated the secular principles of France. In response, Riposte Laïque published a critical article, including a caricature of Hidalgo.

On the 11 January, Hidalgo threw herself onto each microphone that would have her, shrieking “Je suis Charlie” and declaring her eternal vigilance in defence of the Freedom of speech.

And that is the woman who dares filing a complaint for insult against the author of this caricature.

Yet if you look at the caricatures by Charlie Hebdo — whom she declared an “honorary citizen of the city of Paris” — you will see her double standards, to say the least…

There’s more at Vlad’s place.

Transcript:

0:00   Madame HIDALGO files complaint against caricaturist R17
0:04   for “public insult against a citizen exercising a public mandate.”
0:08   We are all touched and shattered.
0:12   The scenes of this morning are undignified.
0:16   Someone deliberately executed people
0:20   whose weapon is a pencil.
0:24   Does Madame Hidalgo not like pencils any longer?
0:28   People like Charb, like
0:32   Cabu, Wolinski, who are pacifists.
0:36   Tweet: “The freedom of speech and of the press are fundamental rights
0:40   which will never be compromised by our democracy.”
0:44   Madame HIDALGO does not like “Freedom of Speech” any longer?
0:48   Freedom is our identity. Our identity is
0:52   our will to live in freedom according to our Republican values.
0:56   Freedom of speech, Freedom of the press are fundamental
1:00   elements and we will continue to fight for them. Voila!
1:04   Madame Hidalgo is no longer “Charlie”?
1:08   During an extraordinary Council Meeting we will bestow
1:12   on Charlie Hebdo the status of Citizen of Honour of the city of Paris,
1:16   to say: “We stand, upright, with Charlie Hebdo”,
1:20   with those who fell today. And this suffering,
1:24   we will transform it to continue to live
1:28   in Freedom with our values.
1:32   We are not afraid.
1:36   Not even afraid!
 

2 thoughts on “A Fair-Weather Friend”

  1. It is not that Hidalgo is a fair weather friend. In January she was engaging in some easy, cost-free, feel-good, public relations stunt. It didn’t mean she actually believed in the sentiments expressed. That Mahmoud Abbas was marching in the front row of the January “Je Suis Charlie” demonstration with Hidalgo – and, unlike Benjamin Netanyahu, was invited to it – spoke volumes.

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