Hailing 'great advance' for women, new Paris mayor Hidalgo takes over from longtime mentor

The new mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo, wearing the mayoral sash in the color of the French Republic, acknowledges applause after her election today in Paris.

PARIS — The first female mayor of Paris has taken office, hailing a “great advance for all women” and saying she feels the weight of responsibility in her new job.

Anne Hidalgo donned the red, white and blue mayoral sash today after at a City Hall vote enshrining her victory in the capital as part of nationwide municipal elections on March 30.

Hidalgo noted on France’s TF1 television that very few women were mayors of major world cities, but her victory shows “no citadel is impregnable for women” and “parity is on the march.”

The unassuming, Spanish-born 54-year-old Hidalgo takes over from ex-Mayor Bernard Delanoe, her longtime mentor and a fellow Socialist for whom she was the top deputy during his 13-year tenure. He didn’t seek a new term.