Nearly 200 mayors of France have received an invitation to meet President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday at the Élysée. All the guests have seen their town affected by the degradations of recent days, after the conflagration linked to the death of Nahel. In Côte-d’Or, the mayors of Dijon, Beaune, Chenôve, Talant, Quetigny and Longvic were invited to this Elysian meeting. In the end, only two made the trip, even if all hope for an appeasement. If Thierry Falconnet and Fabian Ruinet, respectively mayor of Chenôve and Talant, were in the game, some could not get there “because of the imperative of the agenda”, justifies the cabinet of José Almeida, first city councilor longvician. “But the approach is interesting in itself. Having listening time from the president is always a good thing to take. However, behind, we will be attentive to the follow-up given. “Same story on the side of the town hall of Dijon, where it is explained that François Rebsamen learned late on the invitation “which was sent to him Monday evening by the Elysée, when he was returning from a trip to Paris. He discussed the situation directly with the President of the Republic on Monday evening and with the Minister of the Interior on Monday morning. »
Others declined more firmly, like Alain Suguenot, from Beaune. In a press release published Monday on his Facebook page, he called for a “firmer” response to such acts, “and that our law enforcement, whose courage we must thank, like our firefighters can find the means of action. The first role of the State being, of course, to ensure the safety of French men and women and therefore of Beaunoises and Beaunois. There is no point in inviting mayors to the Élysée. They should be given the means to be as they have always been: the first local response at the service of citizens”.
“It will be imperative that a dialogue follow”
Ludovic Rochette, president of the association of mayors of France for the Côte-d’Or, summarizes the mixed reception received by the presidential invitation: “It is a good thing that the presidency invites elected officials affected by the violence, that seems normal to me, but the subject is abnormal, we are in an extraordinary setting with this affair ”, underlines the one who is also mayor of Brognon. Although his municipality was not the victim of the violence, he is well aware that this affair is a little more detrimental to the morale of the troops already at half mast: “The mayors are on the front line, and represent both the State, as of deconcentration but also the citizens of their territory through decentralization. I have been asking for a great debate on the office of mayor for a long time. This meeting could be a first stone in the building. After having dealt with the violence, it will be imperative that a dialogue follow, around the means which are given to the elected officials to exercise their function”.
Thierry Falconnet (Chenôve): “I felt a hardening of the speech”
“It’s the kind of invitation that you can’t decline, when the President of the Republic invites you for an exchange, you have to make an act of presence, rather than staying in your corner complaining. The President of the Republic began with a short introduction. He was surrounded by the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti, Christophe Béchu, Minister for Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion and his Deputy Minister Olivier Klein. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne made an appearance. Emmanuel Macron wanted to hear from us above all and it was a testimonial exercise that lasted nearly 2.5 hours since we were more than 200 mayors, affected by the violence. I asked several times to speak, but in vain, it was a bit of a rat race but also a kind of collective psychotherapy. Regardless of the political labels, what emerges from these episodes is shock, amazement and misunderstanding for all. Once past this collective assessment, we unfortunately fall back into divisions when we try to explain the situation. I felt a hardening of the discourse on questions of authority and sanctions. Many spoke again of the possibility of “making the parents of the minors involved pay”. I am against it and don’t want it to happen. That there is support for the parental function, yes. However, I don’t think that penalizing families that are already in difficulty solves anything. I regret a little that no solution has emerged. In my opinion, we talked about symptoms but not about the deep disease that runs through our municipalities. This dramatic citizen stall. »
Interview by A. R.
Fabian Ruinet (Talant): “We have to take action”
Fabian Ruinet, mayor of Talant, was one of more than 200 mayors invited by Emmanuel Macron to the Élysée on Tuesday July 4. He first of all appreciated the approach of the President of the Republic who wanted to meet the city councilors affected by urban violence. “The government needs to hear us. We have put issues on the table and now we have to take action,” he said at the end of this meeting. The president listened to the mayors for three hours before intervening to close this meeting.
More powers for the municipal police
Fabian Ruinet spoke to the president about a subject to which he is attached, that of security. Some mayors have talked about carrying out more preventive actions. But these are measures in which he believes little. “The public concerned is not interested in these approaches,” he believes. On the other hand, he would like the municipal police to have more prerogatives. “We need to give him more powers. For example, municipal police officers cannot carry out identity checks. We are also having difficulty filling open positions. This job needs to be more attractive. I think we need a clear answer to increase our numbers and give them greater powers. For him, it is also necessary that justice “review the criminal policy on minors”. He therefore hopes that this meeting will lead to concrete actions. “We will take stock with the prefects at the end of August. »
A.-L. B.
#Golden #Coast #mayors #Chenôve #Talant #received #Élysée #urban #violence #Emmanuel #Macron
