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Mayor of Paris

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(Redirected from Provost of Paris)
Mayor of Paris
Maire de Paris
Incumbent
Anne Hidalgo
since 5 April 2014
ResidenceHôtel de Ville
AppointerPopular election
(approved by the Council of Paris)
Term length6 years, renewable once
Inaugural holderJean Sylvain Bailly
Formation15 July 1789
20 March 1977
Salary8,650 (monthly)
Websitewww.paris.fr

The mayor of Paris (French: Maire de Paris) is the chief executive of Paris, the capital and largest city in France. The officeholder is responsible for the administration and management of the city, submits proposals and recommendations to the Council of Paris, is active in the enforcement of the city's ordinances, submits the city's annual budget and appoints city officers, department commissioners or directors, as well as members of city boards and commissions. During meetings of the Council of Paris, the mayor serves as the presiding officer, as it is the case in any other commune in France. Since Paris doubles as a department as well, the mayor also has the rank of a departmental council president.

History

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When the French Revolution began after the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, the city insurgents murdered the last Provost of Paris (Provost of the Merchants), Jacques de Flesselles. Because the Provost's office was abolished as one of the first moves with the dissolution of the Ancien Régime, the insurgents established a revolutionary government called the "Commune of Paris", initially led by Jean Sylvain Bailly, the first titled "Mayor of Paris". The mayor's office was very important during the critical phases of the Revolution, and during Robespierre's Reign of Terror (1793–1794) it was decisive in the discovery and execution of all suspected counter-revolutionaries. In July 1794, after the 9th Thermidor, the coup d'état that deposed and executed Robespierre and his cronies, the office of Mayor was abolished since it was perceived to be too powerful.

After the February Revolution of 1848, the July Monarchy ended in favor of a new Republic, that restored the mayor's office. This renewal was however short, as the June Days uprising of the same year ended the possibility of creating a strong mayorship. The Executive Commission—charged to provisionally rule the country—preferred to transfer the mayor's powers to the Seine Prefect, appointed by Ministry of the Interior.

In 1870, once again, the office of Mayor of Paris was re-established and again did not survive long. The occasion for the re-creation was the fall of the Second Empire after the defeat in the Franco-Prussian War. The provisional Government of National Defense of Louis-Jules Trochu believed that a strong leadership in Paris would prevent sedition during the Prussian siege. After the definitive conquest of Paris by Prussians, popular discontent erupted in a new insurrectionary Commune which held socialist beliefs. Also, in case the Commune was finally suppressed, the new national government preferred to divide Paris into several distinct mayorships (one for each arrondissement) to prevent the city's total loss in the event of further revolts.

Thus, for all but 14 months from 1794 to 1977, Paris was the only commune of France without a mayor, and had less autonomy than even the smallest village. For most of the time from 1800 to 1977 (except briefly in 1848 and 1870–71), it was controlled directly by the departmental prefect (the prefect of the Seine before 1968 and prefect of Paris after 1968). In 1975 Parliament passed a bill re-establishing an elected mayor for Paris, beginning in 1977. The bill was signed by President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing on 31 December 1975. In March 1977, after the first formal municipal election, former Prime Minister Jacques Chirac was chosen as Mayor of Paris, a position he held until 1995, when was elected President of France.

List of officeholders

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NotesDied in office

No. Mayor Term in office
Elections
Previous office Party Deputy
1 Jean Sylvain Bailly
1736–1793
(Aged 57)
15 July 1789 18 November 1791 President of the
National Assembly

(1789)
Patriotic Office did not exist
1789
2 Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve
1756–1794
(Aged 38)
18 November 1791 1 December 1792 Representative
to Estates General

for the Third Estate
(1789)
Girondin
1791
3 Henri Lefèvre d'Ormesson
1751–1808
(Aged 56)
21 November 1792 8 December 1792 Judge in the
6th arrondissement
(1790–1792)
Girondin
1792 (November)
4 Nicolas Chambon
1748–1826
(Aged 78)
8 December 1792 14 February 1793 Paris Financial Administrator
(1790–1791)
Girondin
1792 (December)
5 Jean-Nicolas Pache
1746–1823
(Aged 77)
14 February 1793 10 May 1794 Minister of War
(1792–1793)
Jacobin
1793
6 Jean-Baptiste Fleuriot-Lescot
1761–1794
(Aged 33)
10 May 1794 27 July 1794 Public Prosecutor of the
Revolutionary Tribunal
(1793–1794)
Jacobin
1794
Office abolished (1794–1848)
7 Louis Antoine Pagès
1803–1878
(Aged 75)
24 February 1848 9 March 1848 MP for Eure
(1846–1848)
Constitutionalist
Republican
Office did not exist
N/A
8 Armand Marrast
1801–1852
(Aged 50)
9 March 1848 19 July 1848 MP for Haute-Garonne
(1848–1849)
Constitutionalist
Republican
N/A
Office abolished (1848–1870)
9 Étienne Arago
1802–1892
(Aged 90)
4 September 1870 15 November 1870 MP for Pyrénées-Orientales
(1848–1851)
Radical Republican Office did not exist
N/A
10 Jules Ferry
1832–1893
(Aged 60)
15 November 1870 18 March 1871 MP for Seine
(1869–1870)
Moderate Republican
N/A
Office abolished (1871–1977)
11 Jacques Chirac
1932–2019
(Aged 86)
20 March 1977 13 March 1983 Prime Minister of France
(1974–1976)
Rally for the Republic Christian de La Malène
1977
13 March 1983 19 March 1989 Jean Tiberi
1983
19 March 1989 16 May 1995
1989
12 Jean Tiberi
Born 1935
22 May 1995 25 March 2001 MP for Paris
(1976–2012)
Rally for the Republic Jacques Dominati
1995
13 Bertrand Delanoë
Born 1950
25 March 2001 16 March 2008 Senator for Paris
(1995–2001)
Socialist Party Anne Hidalgo
2001
16 March 2008 5 April 2014
2008
14 Anne Hidalgo
Born 1959
5 April 2014 3 July 2020 Deputy Mayor of Paris
(2001–2014)
Socialist Party Bruno Julliard
2014
3 July 2020 Incumbent Emmanuel Grégoire
2020

See also

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References

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