The resignation of the mayor of Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, Yannick Morez, victim of an arson attack and under pressure from the far right, arouses a flood of reactions of solidarity from associations of elected officials, who are calling more than ever for a state support. The mayor, who questions the “lack of state support”, not only announced his resignation after fifteen years of municipal council, but also his move from the city where this general practitioner by profession has lived for 32 years.
Denouncing on Thursday “an umpteenth manifestation of violence which elected officials must increasingly face”, the Association of Mayors of France (AMF) urgently called for responses “at the height of the challenges”. “It is shameful that a mayor is in this situation of refusing to continue to live in the city of which he was mayor for so many years”, reacted André Laignel (PS), first vice-president of the AMF , criticizing the “scandalous resignation of the State which was not at the side of Yannick Morez”, while it is the State itself which decides on the locations of the Cada (Centre d’accueil de migrants ).
“Permanent” state support
“There are measures that have been taken, following a certain number of intimidations, in particular specific protection, in particular on the home. Regular patrols by the national gendarmerie, especially after the fire, ”assured the prefect of Loire-Atlantique, Fabrice Rigoulet-Roze, during a press briefing in Nantes. “He had very recent exchanges with the soldiers of the national gendarmerie to assess the intimidation and the pressure he felt,” he added.
The prefect assured that “the support of the State” had been “permanent, throughout the process of construction of this project from Cada to Saint-Brévin”. “The support of the State, since 2021, has always been constant, both with the mayor, with the municipal council of Saint-Brévin, with the participation in particular, from the start, of the State, alongside the municipality, within the framework of public meetings, consultations, exchanges”, continued Fabrice Rigoulet-Roze.
“Intellectual and sometimes physical terrorism”
Saint-Brevin is not an isolated case. Far-right demonstrations and threats to elected officials have got the better of the Callac refugee reception project, in Central Brittany. In Bélâbre, in Indre, a 38-seat Cada installation project also sparked an outpouring of hatred. “It’s been months that we alert on the small groups of the extreme right which make reign an intellectual and sometimes physical terrorism on the elected officials”, underlines André Laignel, elected official of Indre.
Faced with the outcry, the Minister Delegate for Local Authorities Dominique Faure indicated that she would unveil next week “new means to prevent and fight against attacks on elected officials”. She had already announced in mid-March the creation of an “analysis and fight cell” dedicated to the fight against attacks on elected officials. A measure still not followed by effects, according to the AMF. A law promulgated in January also allows associations of elected officials to bring civil proceedings.