Following the dismissal of Pierre Gauttieri for “loss of confidence” after the sex tape blackmail affair, the position of chief of staff to the mayor of Saint-Etienne remained vacant for more than a year. Between indictments and new revelations in this story, it is difficult to find a replacement to “organize the political expression of the mayor”… Fortunately, Michaël Roncier, who took up his post in October 2023, “likes challenges”, as he says. ‘said in an interview with Progress.
He was already able to dismantle it when he was alongside the mayor of Cholet in 2013… That year, caravans were set up illegally in the town of Mayor Gilles Bourdouleix. The elected official then blurted out that “Hitler had perhaps not killed enough”. His convictions for “apology of crimes against humanity” were annulled by the Court of Cassation, considering that these remarks had been made without “any desire to make them public”. Questioned about these facts, he assures today that “it was knowingly a trap against the mayor” who “repeated in an interrogative tone” the comments of travelers.
The affair of “false letters” from readers
And this is not the only sauce of the old dircab. A story of “fake letters” from readers breaks out. According to West FranceGilles Bourdouleix wanted to send a pre-written letter to the press to address reproaches… But this email, with all the recommendations, was sent to the editorial staff by mistake and was signed by Michaël Roncier with the following details: “It must not be the press sees anything,” recalls the media Yew. He then resigned.
After two years in the private sector in an industrial group, he then became cabinet director again. First in Montauban then in the Grand-Est region and finally, in Évreux and New Caledonia.
Accommodation costs covered by the city
Barely three months after taking office, the new chief of staff of Saint-Etienne is already in the spotlight. Municipal officials revealed this Monday that Michaël Roncier “benefited from the coverage of his accommodation costs by the city”, and this, by “a simple decision of the mayor”, without a vote. The rent amounts to 930 euros, charges included, for an apartment located 50 meters from the town hall. The city also paid the deposit of 1,860 euros.
“No previous chief of staff in the city has benefited from such a generous provision,” recalls the Saint-Etienne Demain group. The latter accuses the mayor of “distributing, once again, public money as he pleases”. A new story which breaks after the new indictment of the elected official. In response to calls for resignation, the 51-year-old assured: “My great strength is my innocence, that’s what keeps me going.” His chief of staff said he “liked challenges”… He’s served!