Rebel Girls Climate Warriors: 25 Tales of Women Who Protect the Earth

Rebel Girls Climate Warriors: 25 Tales of Women Who Protect the Earth — page 7
8 ANNE HIDALGO POLITICIAN Before she was the mayor of Paris Anne was a little Spanish girl in San Fernando Spain Born Ana María to a father who was an electrician and a mother who was a seamstress Anne moved to Lyon France with her family when she was two years old But she had trouble fitting in When she was in second grade her teacher told her that little Spanish girls don't make it to the top of the class Anne was ready to prove her wrong At 14 years old Anne became a French citizen Later she began to study social services and law She saw how hard it was for people to get housing or enjoy the outdoors She wanted to work in government so she could help people and change the way cities were structured Anne loved Paris and its ancient monuments and cathedrals But what about its future There were so many congested roads polluted rivers and parks covered in concrete Anne was determined to make the city greener In 2014 Anne became the first-ever woman to be elected mayor of Paris Since then she has transformed the city She banned cars from certain streets and helped build miles of new bike lanes to cut pollution She had thousands of new trees planted and invested in green roofs electric buses and free public transportation She also helped draft the Paris Agreement which is a plan and promise from many nations to fight climate change We've rediscovered quite simple things Anne says about her work simple but amazing like the joy of smelling cherry blossoms in the spring or finding shade on a hot summer day BORN JUNE 19 1959 SPAIN AND FRANCE