“The attacks against Yannick Morez, mayor of Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, and against his family, are outrageous. To this elected representative of the Republic, to his wife and his children, I repeat my solidarity and that of the Nation, ”said Emmanuel Macron on Twitter. The indignation was general Thursday in the political class after the resignation of the mayor of Saint-Brevin-les-Pins. Yannick Morez (DVD) indicated that he was going to leave his post under pressure from the far right and deploring a “lack of state support”. The home of this elected official from Loire-Atlantique had notably been the subject of an arson attack in March, without causing any injuries, in connection with the highly contested move of a reception center for asylum seekers, which has existed since 2016, near a kindergarten.
“What happened is very shocking and I would like to assure the mayor of all my support,” said Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne from Reunion, where she began a three-day visit. His entourage then clarified that she would offer him to receive him at Matignon “in the course of next week”. The head of government said her desire to “better protect mayors”, to “respond more effectively when there are threats”, to “strengthen our action to intervene earlier, to be able to support mayors to identify their difficulties and better accompany them in the face of violence of which they may be victims”.
“State inaction is an absolute disgrace”
In the process, the Minister in charge of Territorial Communities, Dominique Faure, assured that she would unveil, also next week, “new means to prevent and fight against attacks on elected officials”. The fact that this fire is linked to the relocation of a reception center for asylum seekers “shows that there is a rise in extremism in our country and obviously we have to be very, very vigilant about this subject,” said Elisabeth Borne.
“Extremism is valid on both sides” of the political spectrum, she added, arousing anger on the left, unhappy to see herself returned “back to back” with the far right: “incredible , dangerous”, reacted Chloé Ridel, spokesperson for the PS. The seaside resort of Saint-Brevin-les-Pins opened a reception center for asylum seekers (Cada) in 2016 after the dismantling of the “Calais jungle”. The latter must move to a building under construction next to a kindergarten. Several demonstrations against this project have been organized at the call of the far right, in particular the movement of Reconquest, the party of Éric Zemmour.
On the left, all parties denounced the situation which led Yannick Morez to resign. “The inaction of the state is an absolute disgrace. What is he waiting for to act? “, tweeted Fabien Roussel (PCF), while Marine Tondelier (EELV) judged that “the Republic is retreating”. “No elected official should have to choose between the protection of his family and the exercise of his mandate”, estimated the mayor of Nantes (PS) Johanna Rolland, on the sidelines of a press conference this Thursday.
RN deputies did not applaud
For her part, Marine Le Pen, leader of the RN deputies who did not join Wednesday evening in the applause of the National Assembly in support of Yannick Morez, described Thursday on Twitter as “inadmissible” the “attacks and intimidation towards elected officials. “In the Republic, political disagreements are settled at the ballot box or before the courts. There are no exceptions to this rule,” she added.
At Reconquête!, we refuse to comment. Eric Zemmour’s entourage recalled, however, that the party had distanced itself in recent weeks from the mobilization, believing that “it was going too far”.