Boris Johnson and Anne Hidalgo unveil London-Paris artistic ‘tandem’
|
Version 0 of 1. London and Paris – or Paris and London – have apparently buried the hatchet with a meeting of their rival mayors to announce a cultural exchange. It threatened to be an uneasy double act when the pair met on Thursday. After all, Anne Hidalgo once described London as a suburb of Paris, and Boris Johnson said they were like yin and yang, though it was unclear if he was talking about people or places. In the end it was all very entente cordiale. “Welcome Boris”, said Hidalgo as the pair took to the stage at Paris’s city hall. “Merci Anne,” replied the London mayor. Johnson began by expressing, in what he promised would be “barbaric French”, London’s solidarity with Paris following the terrorist attacks four weeks ago. He pointed out to his Spanish-born, French naturalised counterpart that the Tricolor had been flown in Trafalgar Square and atop Nelson’s Column. There were a few splutters from the audience. Paris and London, he concluded, had the same ideas about freedom of expression. “Ah Boris, tu es Charlie?” retorted Hidalgo, referring to the slogan that has been taken up to show solidarity with the journalists killed at Charlie Hebdo magazine. “Yes, je suis Charlie,” he replied. The pair had met to announce an artistic “tandem” or twinning between the cities that will see – among music, theatre, literature, and cinema exchanges - David Bowie and the London Philharmonic come to Paris and Juliette Binoche and artist Sonia Delaunay make the return journey. The five-month programme is described as a sharing of “riches and the diversity of cultures”. On the question of security concerns for both cities following the recent Paris terror attacks, Johnson said both he and Hidalgo agreed the challenge was to reach out to youngsters who felt alienated from society and prompted to “do something catastrophic for themselves and others”. He said the priority in this “struggle for hearts and minds” is getting young people into jobs. This allowed him to point out – twice – that unemployment is lower in Britain than in France. “Not that we can be complacent about these problems,” he added quickly. Hidalgo, however, was determined to be diplomatic. “I adore London and its mayor is simply an icon, not just in London, but here too,” she said to more splutters and chuckles. The rivalry between the two cities was “stimulating and interesting”, she said, adding: “We do not run each other down”. Well, not much. |