The government spokesperson, Olivier Véran, had a tense exchange on Friday about the associative sector with the RN assimilated mayor of Moissac, in Tarn-et-Garonne, Romain Lopez, where he was traveling in the company of the minister of the culture.
Coming to the Toulouse region to announce state support for the restoration of an abbey listed as a UNESCO world heritage site, Olivier Véran and Rima Abdul-Malak, Minister of Culture, took part in a public meeting with residents and representatives of local associations, in the presence of Mayor Romain Lopez. In turn, association representatives regretted cuts in their municipal subsidies. A point that was firmly contested by the mayor, who stood up to respond to them, after each intervention by the representatives, according to an AFP correspondent.
“People want to talk, you stop them”
Faced with this behavior, the government spokesperson reframed the mayor: “people want to speak, you prevent them. You don’t own your city, Mr. Mayor, you owe them respect, it’s scandalous. » What followed was a tense exchange during which the two men successively cut each other off.
Romain Lopez, feeling attacked by Olivier Véran on his municipal policy, therefore submitted a report from the regional chamber of accounts to legitimize his policy towards associations. He also explained his point of view on the view taken by the government spokesperson: “I think, [que M. Véran] other things to do today, when we look at poverty in our country, the problems of purchasing power, terrorism, communitarianism… than to judge the policy of a mayor of a city of 14,000 inhabitants 600 kilometers from Paris. »
Earlier, before this exchange, Romain Lopez assured the press that he was “delighted to welcome ministers, but when a minister tells you ‘we are going to indict you on your municipal policy’, this is not a minister, he is an activist.”