The controversy began on June 2 with the publication of an investigation by the Chained Duck accusing the candidate of having justified his ability to present himself in the region, by declaring a “bogus domiciliation” in Avignon.
The Avignon court on Wednesday ruled “inadmissible” the request of elected LR who contested the regularity of the candidacy of Thierry Mariani (RN), leading the polls for the regional elections in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur .
Five Avignon voters, members of the Republicans, had taken legal action to obtain the removal from the electoral lists of the former minister of Nicolas Sarkozy. They believe that he does not have a “real domicile” in the city, as he claims, and therefore of sufficient attachment to the region in which he is present, as required by the electoral code.
“Their power inadmissible”
At the hearing, Thierry Mariani’s lawyer, Me Frédéric-Pierre Vos, pleaded inadmissibility due to the late challenge of the applicants who would have exceeded the legal deadline of seven days after publication of the electoral lists. In support of this assertion, Me Vos had presented at the hearing a certificate from the Avignon city hall indicating that the publication of the lists had taken place on May 31, whereas the request had been registered on June 8, that is, is to say 24 hours late.
Conversely, the applicants had not substantiated that their appeal had indeed been made on time, the court considering that it was their responsibility to provide proof.
In his expectations, he explains that “it was up to the applicants to demonstrate the admissibility of their appeal and first of all the starting point of the 7-day period. They had to provide the court with the certain date of publication of the list. to demonstrate that their appeal had indeed been made on time “. Noting this absence, the court declared “their appeal inadmissible”. He therefore did not rule on the merits of the case.
The RN candidate disputes having a fictitious home
The controversy over the eligibility of Thierry Mariani began on June 2 with the publication of an investigation by the Chained Duck accusing the candidate supported by Marine Le Pen of having justified his ability to appear in the region, declaring a “domiciliation bidon “, a studio rented by a regional councilor and elected municipal RN of Avignon, Anne-Sophie Rigault, in which the elected official told the newspaper not to spend his life there but to sleep there” sometimes “.
However, the Civil Code defines the real domicile as the place where the person has “his principal establishment”.
The question of the domicile of the candidate RN, mayor of Valréas (Vaucluse) for 16 years and elected to the region until 2015, is the subject of a standoff with the outgoing LR president of Paca, Renaud Muselier.
For the latter, Thierry Mariani is a “usurper, an impostor”, who has long since abandoned his region of origin and now lives in Paris.
The RN candidate, who denies having a fictitious home in Avignon, denounced “far-fetched and bad faith” claims that his opponent LR was “panicked” in the face of unfavorable polls.
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