“It is not an act of defiance, the idea is to make exist the voice of environmentalists”. Sébastien Barles, deputy mayor of Marseille in charge of the ecological transition, assures him, he “seeks to advance the city, not to create dissension”. Still, the announcement, this Monday, of the creation of an “environmentalist and citizen group” within the municipal council is a bit bad one year after the victory of the Marseilles Spring in the municipal elections, ending 25 years of reign of the right.
For the occasion, the socialist mayor returned to the reconstruction of the left in an interview with Release. “We will never move forward if everyone tries to keep their chapel alive,” he says. Last year, we won with the Marseille Spring because we managed to break that. We came up with something in common. It wasn’t just an addition of logos, we offered an alternative. “It was without counting, therefore, with the press release of six elected environmentalists fell a little later in the morning, for” a city more just, greener and more democratic “.
Birth of the Ecologist & Citizen group #Marseille at the service of the municipal majority and the people of Marseilles.
For strong ecological public policies in order to:
-response to social & ecological emergencies
– go beyond partisan labels
-associate citizens. pic.twitter.com/5xZ3lD10YO– Sébastien Barles (@sebbarles) July 5, 2021
“We want to go faster, stronger”
“We must link the ecological transformation of the city with the issue of repairing the city”, explains Sébastien Barles, who at the same time says his desire to remain in the municipal majority, like the group “Marseille above all” by Samia Ghali. “We want to go faster, stronger,” he adds. When we attack the regional two-thirds of citizens who will not vote, we can see that there is a real democratic crisis. We want to invent systems for citizen initiatives. From September, we will set up a workshop before each municipal council to receive citizens’ amendments ”.
The ecologist, who came fifth at the end of the first round of municipal elections with 8.94% of the vote, had supported the Marseille Spring candidate, Michèle Rubirola, in the in-between rounds. The elected official, now Marseille’s first deputy, is not, however, part of this new environmental group. Just like Christine Juste, EELV deputy in charge of the environment at the city of Marseille, who does not take offense to have learned the information through the press. “It’s a bit like the club of” ouin-ouin “, a publicity stunt to exist, she slices. For a year, there has been such a job to be done, that they are rolling up their sleeves! They are already in 2022. “
“The difficulties begin”
“For a single majority, already having three groups, the difficulties begin”, ironically Catherine Pila, head of the LR opposition group in the city council. “The local elections having passed, everyone wants to regain their independence in terms of value and voice,” she continues. This confirms that this team is heterogeneous, that the municipal majority is cracking. “
“We are 53 elected, it is hard to imagine that this environmental group votes against a budget, it would be irresponsible”, procrastinates for her part, Christine Juste. Likewise, she cannot imagine the mayor withdrawing delegations from the slingers: “I do not see him starting to attack with an ax, not even a year after the election. The aperitif planned this Monday evening to celebrate the entry into the walls of the town hall will however have an unexpected flavor. Just like, no doubt, the city council next Friday.