Readout of Mayor Johnson’s final day of official visit to France
Today, Mayor Johnson visited the Hôtel de Ville — Paris City Hall — to meet with city officials. His first scheduled meeting was with Arnaud Ngatcha, Deputy Mayor of the City of Paris in charge of Europe, international relations, and the French-speaking world. During the meeting, they discussed economic development, international relations, and how each city is preparing for events that will respectively put them on the global stage and attract international visitors — the Paris 2024 Olympics and the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Both Mayor Johnson and Deputy Mayor Ngatcha agreed that these global events will be imperative for their constituents to form a connection with the rest of the world, and vice versa. Before his next meeting, Mayor Johnson stopped by the Paris Council meeting to observe part of the meeting.
The mayor then met with Christophe Najdovski, Deputy Mayor in charge of the revegetation of public spaces, green spaces, biodiversity, and animal welfare. They had a lively conversation about their love of parks, each city’s measurable greening goals, and the importance of accessibility to green spaces. Deputy Mayor Najdovski expanded on the creative ways Paris is adding green spaces to their high-density city — such as transforming old, unused railroad tracks into a trail and covering buildings and rooftops with plants. The deputy mayor also expressed that parks and gardens are social and collective equipment for the public — or as Mayor Johnson describes it, “critical infrastructure” — and that investing in parks is a public interest that cannot be delayed. Both of them agreed that now is the time to make investments in parks.
Lastly, Mayor Johnson met with Sébastien Duquenne, Director of Risk Prevention, Safety and Security for the Eiffel Tower’s Operating Company. Mayor Johnson talked about his prioritization of public safety in Dallas and inquired about the best methods to prepare the city for global events from a security perspective. Duquenne gave Mayor Johnson a tour of the Eiffel Tower’s security operations and explained the multifaceted public safety approach that keeps the iconic tower safe. Duquenne shared high-level details about how his team takes measures to prevent attacks on the Eiffel Tower — a space that receives 6.2 million visitors a year — and what they are doing to prepare for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
This trip has highlighted the exchange of innovative strategies in international relations, city design, public safety, and arts and culture. Throughout the last few days, Mayor Johnson had many productive meetings with top economic, cultural, and financial industry leaders as well as government officials to invigorate trade and commerce between the cities and Dallas.
Mayor Johnson returns to Dallas on Saturday.
