” They came, they are all here. Bruno Gilles, head of Horizons in Marseille, laughs. In the photo posted on social networks, indeed, they are all there. But, a priori, it was not to see the Mamma die. It was rather to be sure to be seen, on this shot which, they knew, would make a lot of talk, once posted the next day. A shot that had even been the subject ofa trailer in the media to better arouse expectation and be certain that the message would get through.
The scene takes place last Thursday, in a restaurant on the quays of the Old Port. In the photo, we see the entire Marseille right in the broad sense. “From the left of Benoît Payan to the hard Marseille right, from Christophe Madrolle to Valérie Boyer basically, everyone was there”, sums up the departmental councilor Yves Moraine, former leader of the right on the city council under Jean-Claude Gaudin.
“We don’t have to kiss each other on the mouth”
A simple photo that was far from obvious, in a city where the right, at the head of Marseille for twenty-five years, has turned into a field of ruin and bombs, decimated by rallies in cascade to Emmanuel Macron, internal divisions and the defeat of the last municipal elections against the backdrop of legal scandals. So, three years from the next municipal elections, the president of the metropolis Martine Vassal and that of the region Renaud Muselier whistled the end of recess. It is now a question of displaying a broad union, including with the enemies of yesterday, like Bruno Gilles, long boss of the right in Marseille, dissident candidate against Martine Vassal during the last municipal elections.
“The wounds are cauterized but not healed, not closed, observes Bruno Gilles. Time must do its work. In three years, all is not completely forgotten. We forgive but we don’t forget. But we are at a particular moment, halfway through the term. It was time to show that we could find ourselves all united, and to remind Benoît Payan that there is opposition to his policy. We don’t have to kiss each other on the mouth to offer an alternative! »
“Payan, it’s Gaudin with 50 kilos less”
After an atmosphere of political truce accentuated by the recent tragedy in the rue de Tivoli, the end of political harmony between right and left in Marseille was officially decreed a few days ago, with clashes and criticism on the networks. social. “Yes, we are preparing for the municipal elections, confirms Yves Moraine. In my conception of politics, first, when you lose an election, you have to make a point with yourself and avoid any immediate aggressiveness. There, at mid-term, you have to see what is wrong and organize the opposition. “The last city council was an electric shock for us, believes Bruno Gilles. They fired at us like partridges and not many responded. We felt that there was a fire in the powder. While there is material! The results of this mid-term are far from good. You know, Benoît Payan, it’s Gaudin with 50 kilos less. He tries to calm things down, including in his camp. It’s been difficult for him lately. »
The displayed union of the right contrasts indeed with the distensions which seem to cross the Marseille Spring, Marseille declination of the union of the left which led Michèle Rubirola then Benoît Payan at the head of the second city of France. After the creation of an environmental group in July 2021 within the municipal council, this union cracked a little more last week with the display in broad daylight of disagreements. On May 9, the Marseillaise reveals that the city is under threat of a prefectural deficiency procedure, due to a lack of construction of new social housing. A revelation that is a task when you know that Printemps Marseille was notably elected on its program on housing. A few minutes only after the publication of this paper, deputies to the mayor were very critical of the policy pursued by their colleague in town planning, Mathilde Chaboche. A salvo of tweets resumed with a certain vagueness the article, calling for a change. The next day, the assistant resigned.
“They have the seum”
“As a political observer, I have the impression of witnessing a moment of changeover, believes Yves Moraine. This resignation of Mathilde Chaboche demonstrated divisions. We will see if these divisions are carriers of fractures in the longer term, while the mayor tries to keep the union of all that, also despite the onslaught of Manuel Bompard. The LFI deputy also criticized the housing policy at the end of the article by The Marseillaiseone of his first frontal attacks against Benoît Payan and the policy of Printemps Marseillais.
“However, if we want to win the elections, we need unity on our side and disunity on theirs, and that seems to be coming to the end of his nose,” sums up Bruno Gilles. “As the young people say, on the right, they have the seum, replies Pierre-Marie Ganozzi, third deputy mayor in charge of the school plan. The left is united. I haven’t seen a review on the accommodation issue. It is an observation, that of a lack of housing. Mathilde Chaboche has submitted her resignation. Of which act. But it was not Mathilde Chaboche who was targeted ultimately. »
“It’s crazy to leave for the municipal three years before”
“This union of the left, in fact, was an unidentified political object, launches the deputy mayor Marie Batoux. Many people who joined him were party assignees. Basically, it was the conviction of a small group. The resignation of Mathilde Chaboche did not intervene to calm internal opposition. It was a pledge for the outside, for the State and the people of Marseille. Afterwards, nobody said that there was no political debate between us. Housing is one of them. We are a group of human beings with different sensitivities. It’s normal. »
“It’s crazy to leave for the municipal three years before, and then you have to be aware of something, recalls Jean-Marc Coppola, deputy mayor in charge of culture. There are three years left. Three years is a long time. And having a good record is not enough to be re-elected. And I feel like saying that a lot can happen in three years. Jean-Claude Gaudin, he was sure to finish on a good record. And boom, there was rue d’Aubagne…”