Overview
- Jeanne d’Hauteserre said she will ask the City of Paris legal services and the ethics commission to authorize repayment of €35,779.65 in clothing billed as representation costs from 2020 to 2024.
- Her televised defense — stating she preferred to buy clothes to be “well dressed” and thanking taxpayers — drew a backlash that accelerated her decision to seek repayment.
- At the Paris Council, opposition figure Grégory Canal castigated Anne Hidalgo’s spending, with AFP’s tally placing the mayor’s representation expenses at a minimum of €75,000 over four years as other press totals run higher.
- Under Paris’s system, the city advances annual envelopes for such expenses (€19,720 for the mayor, €11,092 for arrondissement mayors) that must be justified and returned if unused, yet national law and local guidance give wide latitude on what qualifies.
- Past audit reports cited weak controls and poor documentation, and with municipal elections approaching, scrutiny has widened to other arrondissement mayors and prompted calls to tighten or overhaul the regime.