The first deputy secretary of the Socialist Party called for “a big march, a big rally” on Wednesday, May 24. Asked by BFMTV to react to the resignation of Yannick Morez, the socialist mayor of Nantes Johanna Rolland invited to a rally of her support for the mayor of Saint-Brévin (Loire-Atlantique). The latter announced Wednesday evening that he was ending his mandate, provoking a torrent of reactions.
Since he supported a project for an accommodation center for asylum seekers in his town, the elected official has been subjected to pressure and violence. On March 22, an arson attack struck the elected official’s house and cars. “When what happened in Saint-Brévin, the whole Republic backs down,” she said, inviting “all elected officials attached to the values of the Republic, activists, sympathizers, all the humanists who refuse to give in to the intimidation of the National Rally”, to be “many” that day.
With the first secretary of the PS Olivier Faure and the first deputy vice-president of the Association of Mayors of France André Laignel, Johanna Rolland believes that the resignation of the mayor “is an alarm for all Republicans”. “No one should accept that a mayor who fulfills his duty of fraternity by hosting a place of accommodation for asylum seekers, can be intimidated and suffer the burning of his own house”, they affirm, regretting that the State, “after having been alerted, did not react by leaving this elected official alone in the face of the threat from the far right”.
“We won’t let it go”
Deploring that “the trivialization of the parliamentary extreme right has liberated throughout the territory, the speech and now the action of individuals or groups who feel legitimate to spread the venom of racism”, they affirm: “we will not let not pass”. Thursday, many residents of the seaside town of Loire-Atlantique said they “understand” the reaction of their mayor. “The mayor was fed up with it, I understand that. This story went much too far, ”reacted a resident.
The mayor had denounced the lack of state support following these intimidation attempts. Thursday, the prefect of Loire-Atlantique had reacted, considering “the support of the State” had been “permanent”.