Laurent Turquois, mayor of Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire. – City of Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire
- The departmental elections will take place on June 20 and 27, 2021, at the same time as the regional elections.
- The leader of the right and the center is Laurent Turquois, current departmental councilor and mayor of Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire.
- The Loire-Atlantique departmental council has been led by a left-wing majority for 17 years.
Rather, we expected Rodolphe Amailland (LR), mayor of Vertou. But it is Laurent Turquois, departmental advisor and Mayor of Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire, who was appointed the leader of the right and the center last weekend for the departmental elections of June 20 and 27. It is he who will be the leader of an opposition that will try to tip a
Loire-Atlantique department acquired to the left for 17 years.
“I never shaved in the morning imagining myself one day president of the Loire-Atlantique departmental council,” admits the candidate, aged 48. The reality is that it is the fruit of co-constructed work with all the departing departmental advisers of the Democracy 44 group. It may surprise observers but it does not fall like a hair in the soup. We’ve been discussing this for a little while. “
Connecting urban and rural areas
The man, who says he is “motivated by being the conductor of a group”, has the originality of not being included in any party. “It’s my freedom,” he claims. He will not unveil his program now, even if it is “already ready”. However, he said he was “struck” by the “imbalances of the territories” within the Loire-Atlantique. “The department must be present just as much in the rural space as in the urban space”, he insists.
Laurent Turquois also calls for a “department recognized as useful on a daily basis”. “I find it quite astonishing that the inhabitants know what their municipality is for but do not know it for the departments when these are more than ever modern communities. Their prerogatives range from early childhood to supporting our elders. I am amazed to hear that citizens do not know, for example, that departments co-finance Sdis, that is to say the firefighters. “
” No one is essential “
Six years ago, the left had retained its majority with only one canton ahead of 31. The ballot therefore promises, again this year, to be extremely open. “There is a place to reasonably regain the majority,” admits, cautiously, Laurent Turquois. The unexpected retirement of the outgoing president, the socialist Philippe Grosvalet, blurs the tracks a little. It is the former deputy Michel Ménard (PS), 60 years old, who will be the leader of the left majority. “Philippe Grosvalet is leaving, I wish him a happy retirement, without any mockery. We are launching ourselves with conviction and determination, ”reacts the right-wing candidate.
Obviously a little worried about participation given the health situation, he still hopes for a “mobilization” of voters. “Local elected officials wet their shirts every day. They do not deserve a disinterest of the population as they render services to each and everyone ”, he estimates.
As for his post as mayor of Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire, he will have to give it up, if the right wins the departmental election, because of the law on the non-accumulation of mandates. However, he has only occupied it since the end of 2017, following the departure of Joël Guerriau, himself affected by the accumulation of mandates. “I am very attached to my city but no one is essential. I was elected to a close-knit team. San Sebastian is doing well. And tomorrow San Sebastian will be fine. There is no problem. “