A French candidate for mayor of Paris's 17th arrondissement made a bold, scare-mongering play for voters and, referring to the French capital's crime rate, declared, "Paris resembles the Bronx." Maybe he's been going to the Louvre McDonald's, because it's got NYC street art inside it?

Frederic Pechenard, described as a "National Police chief" and "a crucial right-wing vote-bundler" by Quartz, made the remarks earlier this month. Of course, the more liberal candidates have said things like "Paris is not the Bronx" and "The Bronx is lawless. Paris is not the Bronx."

Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. was not amused! He issued a statement (in full below) saying, "The tired, ancient stereotypes about the Bronx continue to unfairly cloud the minds of people as far away as Paris, France. We in the Bronx have had enough," pointing out, "Crime has steadily dropped in the Bronx. Last year, the Bronx had the lowest rate of crime it has seen since the early 1960’s, and this year our borough is on pace to be even safer" and "The elected officials of Paris would do well to remember that and focus on the issues Paris faces today, rather than the issues the Bronx faced decades ago."

The Local spoke to two New Yorkers in Paris: Sebastian Marx explained, "[The French] often use 'the Bronx' as a bye-word for 'a bad neighbourhood.' They don't know what the Bronx looks like, and it's not really based on any information, but it's not malicious, either," while Thomas Chatterton Williams said, "Crime rates are at a record low in New York City, though. New York is actually a pretty safe place, and I think invoking the Bronx as a metaphor for the nightmarish urban environment is no longer spot on... Actually, today that would more like parts of Chicago, but saying 'parts of Paris are starting to resemble the south side of Chicago' doesn't have the same ring to it in France."

Statement from Bronx B.P. Diaz:

"The tired, ancient stereotypes about the Bronx continue to unfairly cloud the minds of people as far away as Paris, France. We in the Bronx have had enough.

“Crime has steadily dropped in the Bronx. Last year, the Bronx had the lowest rate of crime it has seen since the early 1960’s, and this year our borough is on pace to be even safer.

“And we’re not just leading the way in crime reduction. Tens of thousands of new housing units have been constructed here, new businesses are coming to our borough and the existing businesses are growing. We are leading the way in ‘green’ construction, with projects like Via Verde. We have major new projects such as the PGA caliber golf course at Ferry Point Park and the Kingsbridge National Ice Center, which will add to the list of reasons, like the new Yankee Stadium, and the New York Botanical Garden, as to why the Bronx remains an international destination.

“Yet here we are, once again, forced to defend our hometown from the slanders and libels of politicians thousands of miles away, in Paris no less, who are using the Bronx to score cheap political points. Enough already. While we may not be home to the Eiffel Tower, we are the home to 1.4 million hardworking people who are proud of their hometown and how far the Bronx has come.

“The elected officials of Paris would do well to remember that and focus on the issues Paris faces today, rather than the issues the Bronx faced decades ago."