Pierre Aidenbaum

Pierre Aidenbaum
Mayor of the 3rd arrondissement of Paris
In office
18 June 1995 – 11 July 2020
Preceded byJacques Dominati
Succeeded byAriel Weil (as mayor of Paris Centre)
Councillor of Paris
In office
12 March 1989 – 12 November 2020
MayorJacques Chirac
Jean Tiberi
Bertrand Delanoë
Anne Hidalgo
President of the LICRA
In office
1993–1997
Preceded byJean Pierre-Bloch
Succeeded byPatrick Gaubert
Personal details
Born (1942-05-03) 3 May 1942 (age 82)
Le Puy-en-Velay, France
Political partySocialist Party

Pierre Bernard Aidenbaum (né Ajdenbaum;[1] born 3 May 1942) is a French Socialist Party (PS) politician. He was a member of the Council of Paris from 1989 to 2020, and mayor of the 3rd arrondissement of Paris from 1995 to 2020. Born to a Jewish family during the German occupation of France, he was the president of the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA) from 1993 to 1997.

Biography

Aidenbaum was born in Le Puy-en-Velay to a family of Polish Jewish origin who were living under false identities due to persecution in World War II.[2]

In 1992, he became the president of the International League Against Racism and Anti-Semitism (LICRA).[3] During his presidency, LICRA was one of eleven civil rights groups to file complaints against far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen for trivialising the Holocaust; in 1997 Le Pen was fined the equivalent of US$ 17,000 to each group.[4] Aidenbaum was succeeded by his vice-president Patrick Gaubert in 1999.[5]

Aidenbaum was elected mayor of the 3rd arrondissement of Paris in July 1995, succeeding Jacques Dominati.[6] He remained in office until the council was dissolved in July 2020 as the first four arrondissements became Paris Centre.[7] He was also on the Council of Paris from 1989. In July 2020, he became deputy mayor to Anne Hidalgo, being put in charge of the river Seine with the aim of making the heavily polluted and off-limits river safe for public swimming by the time that Paris hosts the 2024 Summer Olympics.[8] In 2018, he supported Hidalgo's plan to pedestrianise the centre of Paris, as long as it was done gradually in respect to businesses.[9] In 2017, he renamed the Square du Temple park after the recently deceased Jewish activist Elie Wiesel.[10]

He resigned as deputy mayor in September 2020 due to accusations of sexual assault.[11] He resigned his council seat in November, having been charged with rape.[12]

He was made a Knight of the Legion of Honour in 1999 and an Officer of the same order in 2013.[13][1]

References

  1. ^ a b "Décret du 31 décembre 2012 portant promotion et nomination" [Decree of 31 December 2012 on promotion and nomination] (in French). Légifrance. Archived from the original on 9 July 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  2. ^ Sauron, Fred (2 September 2013). "Pierre Aidenbaum, un Ponot devenu maire du 3e arrondissement de Paris" [Pierre Aidenbaum, a Puy-en-Velay native who became mayor of the 3rd arrondissement of Paris]. Le Progrès (in French). Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  3. ^ "DROITS DE L'HOMME M. Pierre Aïdenbaum, nouveau président de la LICRA" [HUMAN RIGHTS Mr Pierre Aïdenbaum, new president of LICRA]. Le Monde (in French). 27 October 1992. Archived from the original on 10 April 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  4. ^ "French politician is fined for minimizing Holocaust". Tampa Bay Times. 27 December 1997. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  5. ^ Bernard, Philippe (26 January 1999). "Patrick Gaubert, ancien conseiller de M. Pasqua, élu président de la Licra" [Patrick Gaubert, former advisor to Mr Pasque, elected president of LICRA]. Le Monde (in French). Archived from the original on 14 April 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  6. ^ Lançon, Philippe; Dufresne, David; Charvet, Nadya; Serafini, Tonino (4 July 1995). "Scènes de genre en mairies parisiennes. Les vingt nouveaux conseils d'arrondissement ont élu leur maire hier" [Scenes in Parisian mayors' offices. The twenty new arrondissement councils elected their new mayors yesterday]. Libération (in French). Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  7. ^ Henry, Christine (11 July 2020). "Le socialiste Ariel Weil, premier maire de Paris Centre" [Socialist Ariel Weil, first mayor of Paris Centre]. Le Parisien (in French). Archived from the original on 10 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  8. ^ "How plans are progressing in Paris to make the Seine safe for swimming by 2024". The Local. 3 September 2020. Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  9. ^ "'A Bobo's pipe dream': Can the centre of Paris really be made car-free?". The Local. 16 November 2018. Archived from the original on 29 November 2018. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  10. ^ de Saint-Cheron, Michaël (28 June 2017). "Après New York, la Ville de Paris inaugure un espace au nom d'Elie Wiesel" [After New York, the City of Paris inaugurates a space in the name of Elie Wiesel]. HuffPost (in French). Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  11. ^ Méheut, Constant (14 September 2020). "A Second Paris Deputy Mayor Resigns Amid Sexual Abuse Allegations". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  12. ^ Nelken, Sacha (12 November 2020). "Pierre Aidenbaum, mis en examen pour viol, démissionne du Conseil de Paris" [Pierre Aidenbaum, indicted for rape, resigns from the Council of Paris]. Libération (in French). Archived from the original on 18 February 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  13. ^ "Décret du 13 juillet 1999 portant promotion et nomination" [Decree of 13 July 1999 on promotion and nomination] (in French). Légifrance. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 18 February 2022.