Certain candidate in the upcoming local election, the Deputy wishes to defend his chances under the colors of his party, which seems to have decided otherwise at the local level. The battle is thus engaged within the UMP in a presidential perspective that would have certainly preferred to avoid a showdown in the south of the country.
Nice Première has opened its columns to the two protagonists of the upcoming Nice legislative electoral contest and it is Jérôme Rivière who opens the discussions, as Eric Ciotti is obliged to delay his interview due to the passing of Jean Sassone, father of Dominique Estrosi.
Nice Première: Jérôme Rivière, you have approached the TGI of Paris concerning your candidacy. Where does this procedure stand?
Jérôme Rivière: The hearing was held on Tuesday, November 7. Along with my lawyer, we demonstrated all the irregularities tainting the consultation process for party members. Fake official voters, that is to say, members registered in another constituency who took part in the vote in my constituency, there’s even one from Antibes, need I say more…
Fake hidden members, we provided proof of false domiciles. Eight registered in a restaurant in the old town, eleven others at the headquarters of a municipal-inspired neighborhood committee…
Our goal was indeed to show that this rushed consultation aimed to cover a “dirty affair” in the party with a democratic veil.
NP: What do you dispute in the UMP’s choice which favored Eric Ciotti?
JR: That Christian Estrosi should own up to his choices. He convinced the candidacy commission of the necessity to parachute an apparatchik close to him in Nice to keep the municipal path open.
Since I became a deputy in June 2002, it’s not in my constituency that the left has conquered cantons, but in the second constituency with Dominique Boy-Mottard’s victory.
The cantons lost in my constituency were lost by Estrosi and Peyrat’s friends!
– 12th canton lost in 1998 by Pierre Paul Léonelli who now works at UMP for Estrosi.
– 3rd canton lost in 1998 by Micheline Baus, Peyrat’s assistant and a faithful friend of Estrosi.
– 1st canton lost in 2001 by Gérard Bosio due to divisions sparked by Peyrat and Estrosi.
So, let’s have a bit of seriousness in the statements.
For my part, during the last vote, the referendum on the European constitution project, I was the only elected member of my party in Nice to campaign for the no, and I was largely in the majority. 59% in my constituency, nearly 5 points better than the rest of the city, even as the local leader of the left campaigned for the yes.
NP: Will you be a candidate in the next legislative in the first constituency?
JR: I am, of course, a candidate. I feel I have respected the commitments made to voters. Indeed, to respect these commitments, I have sometimes disagreed with UMP. But who was it better to follow? My party or the given word? I chose to honor my campaign promises.
An example: the State Medical Aid (AME). UMP had pledged to strictly control the procedures that compel us for more or less acceptable medical reasons to give 850 million euros every year to foreigners in irregular situations. I took this promise to the end. I defended amendments on this subject. It upset the Minister of the Interior who did not wish to move on the issue anymore and with Christian Estrosi who defended the AME in the name of generosity [link]. Far from the discourse he has in Nice!
Ditto for the reduction of the VAT rate to 5.5% for catering, which I supported through legislation and amendments that the government withdrew.
I also obtained from Gilles de Robien, as I committed, on one hand, the abandonment of the port of Nice extension project and, on the other, his support for financing the extension of the coastal path which no left-wing elected official obtained from 1997 to 2002.
I also highlighted Niçoise cuisine in Paris by inviting parliamentarians to taste our traditional dishes in the halls of the National Assembly. No one had ever done it before.
I may have erred, but I have always with my convictions made the choice of the voters, rather than the petty politics.
NP: On this subject, what is your recent action in the constituency?
JR: The Nice City Hall thought it wise to tax associations that occupy public space. It appears to have begun with an association I am particularly fond of, “St Roch Mission,” which regularly hosts charity sales for the benefit of St François de Sales parish and does not receive local government subsidies.
Hundreds of Nice associations now find themselves in the same situation. I oppose this levy and expressed it on October 5th with the associations that contacted me, and by requesting clarification from the Ministry of Economy and Finance on the application of ordinance 2006-460. The City Hall can legally abstain, if it wishes, from demanding a fee from associations using public space. It is about clarification and securing the law but not a change from the prevailing system.
This ordinance does not establish a taxation system and does not impose additional constraints.
If the city persists, what will happen, for example, with the organization of Telethon 2006 events? Will the city demand a financial contribution from the associations participating in this major national solidarity event?
NP: If not within the ranks of UMP, what will be your political label?
JR: I am and remain with the UMP. As for the rest, I know that many political movements support my actions.
NP: What do you respond to criticisms about your closeness to Philippe de Villiers?
JR: Philippe de Villiers is a friend. His convictions do not vary, and he deserves recognition for the intellectual and physical courage to dare to challenge Islamist extremists. Those who criticize me for a certain closeness of ideas should remember that they were happy to present themselves in the 1997, 1998, and 2001 elections with the MPF label.
Yes, for several years I have sought to represent the “national” ideas within UMP, and I won’t apologize for that.
NP: You are also criticized for a perceived lack of elegance towards Charles Erhmann. What do you say to your detractors?
JR: Who are the people present with us to affirm today something of the sort? Who was by his side in April 1997 to support Charles Ehrmann’s candidacy in the 1st constituency?
Who was still by Charles Ehrmann’s side when he was attacked by Jacques Peyrat in 2001? I could keep going…
I respect Charles Ehrmann and maintain recognition and affection for the man he has been. But he wishes to stay active in politics. In the context of the upcoming legislative elections, I considered that he couldn’t reasonably be my deputy.
NP: Have you received local support?
JR: Very many. I was even surprised by the extent of reactions stirred by this matter of petty politics. I believe that the people of Nice, like all our fellow citizens, do not like party shenanigans.
NP: Finally, are you still in the race for the upcoming Nice municipal elections?
JR: Regarding this topic, I have said many times that the goal is not to be a candidate for the sake of being a candidate, but because one has a vision for the future for Nice and its inhabitants. It is on this project that I have been working for many months with an entire team.
On a more political level, it is absolutely essential that on the right there is an offer other than the Peyrat-Estrosi duo.
