The mayor of Paris is making a loud exit from X, calling the platform a 'gigantic global sewer'

Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo and X owner and chief technology officer Elon Musk Chesnot and Kirsty Wigglesworth – WPA Pool via Getty Images

• Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo says she’s leaving X after 14 years on the platform.
• In a lengthy farewell post, she said the platform has become a “gigantic global sewer.”
• Hildago is the latest public figure to criticize the platform’s leadership under Elon Musk.

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo says she’s leaving X after more than 14 years on the platform, formerly known as Twitter.

In a lengthy statement shared on X and through the French news outlet Le Monde on Monday, Hidalgo highlighted a long list of issues that she says plague the platform — including anti-semitism, misinformation, and attacks on women, scientists, and environmentalists — and said X was “an impressive tool for destroying our democracies.”

“This platform and its owner intentionally exacerbates tensions and conflicts,” she wrote in French, adding that the platform has “become a gigantic global sewer.”

“To remain true to my convictions and my commitment, I am leaving Twitter today,” Hidalgo wrote on Monday. Her post has been liked more than 2,700 times.

An early proponent of Twitter, Hidalgo joined the platform in 2009 when she was the deputy mayor of Paris. One of her first tweets was an invitation to Paris residents to join a dialogue session.

Hidalgo, who has over 1.5 million followers on X, wrote that she would remain on other platforms “in which respectful exchanges can still take place,” referring to her accounts on social media rivals Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Her departure adds to the growing chorus of public figures criticizing the management and direction of X under Elon Musk.

Musk has faced considerable backlash after endorsing an antisemitic post on X on November 16. His actions drew condemnation from figures including long-time Tesla investor Ross Gerber and Facebook cofounder Dustin Moskovitz.

The ongoing controversy has led to corporate fallout for X, with major companies like Apple, IBM, and Disney pulling their ads from the platform. This exodus could potentially cost X up to $75 million in ad revenue by the end of 2023, according to The New York Times.

Hidalgo’s X account was still online as of 11 p.m. EST. Hidalgo did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

X and Musk did not immediately respond to requests for comment from BI, sent outside regular business hours.