Rallies were organized this Monday noon in front of the town halls of many cities in France. Demonstrations of support for elected officials who are increasingly subject to violence. And even more since the start of the riots.
It was the Villeneuve-les-salines district town hall in La Rochelle which was the first to be attacked by the rioters on the night of June 29 to 30. The following night, it was the town hall of Clou-Bouchet in Niort which was completely vandalized in addition to the local shops.
Villeneuve-les-Salines town hall, damaged during the night of June 29 to 30, 2023. • © Alexandre Keirle, France Télévisions
A violence against the symbols of our institutions which reached its climax in the night from Saturday to Sunday in the Val-de-Marne. Demonstrators launched a burning ram car against the house of the mayor of L’Haÿ-les-Roses. In an emergency, his wife and one of his children were injured while fleeing through the garden.
This violence that has been expressed against elected officials or against buildings in recent days is not a new fact. For months, mayors have been insulted, threatened, sometimes assaulted by residents unhappy with a decision or furious at a file that is not moving forward. This is confirmed by the mayor of Gençay in Vienne, François Bock was present in Poitiers this Monday morning, “verbal abuse, yes it happens, but it’s not that bad.”
The mayor of Saint-Secondin, in Vienne, was entitled to death threats. “I will pierce you, I will find you”. One of his constituents telephoned him one evening at midnight for a power outage. “There, it was completely out of phase, it lasted a quarter of an hour, and I managed to calm her down. But the next day, it started again and then I filed a complaint”. A complaint which has just been materialized by a passage before the court. “He had 120 hours of community service and a fine of 200 euros, that’s it, quite simply. There are a lot of mayors who resign and that’s completely normal.”
To support the mayor of L’Haÿ-les-Roses and all those who have suffered violence, threats or insults, the president of the Association of Mayors of France had called for rallies in front of town halls. In Poitiers, several dozen people came to show their support and several elected officials from the region were present alongside the mayor, Léonore Moncond’huy.
The mayor of Poitiers surrounded by the president of the Nouvelle Aquitaine region, that of the department, the senator of Vienne and the prefect • © Marie-Ange Cristofari, France Télévisions
For this protester, it was important to come and support the mayors “It’s deserving of them to keep doing what they’re doing.”
Stéphane Allouche, deputy mayor of Poitiers, deplores the violence that has been expressed against town halls, but also in Poitiers, against the Poste des Couronneries, against social centers, local shops, police stations “These are facilities for all residents. These are public services, they are the common good. And now it will be difficult for the families of the thugs to benefit from the services to which they are entitled”, he laments.
In La Rochelle, there were also dozens gathered in front of the town hall, but also in front of the annex of that of the Villeneuve-les-Salines district, devastated on the night of Thursday to last Friday.
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