Patrick Allemand is 53 years old and is the father of two children, Damien and Margot. He is a career territorial civil servant, which has led him to work extensively on employment policies. His political engagement dates back to 1981, through student unionism and the Christian Working Youth: “I was wildly happy with François Mitterrand’s victory even though I was a Rocard supporter at the time.”
In 1992, he was elected for the first time as a regional opposition councilor, and then things accelerated in March 1998 when he became the first vice-president of the Regional Council and took the 12th canton from the right (before being re-elected six years later). Since 2008, he has been the leader of the opposition at the Nice City Council and the Métropole NCA.
Nice Premium: You are a candidate for the upcoming municipal election. In one word: Why?
Patrick Allemand: Because working for my city has always been the purpose of my political commitment. And, I believe today that it’s in poor hands. Nice deserves better than the demagogic and egocentric headlong rush constantly offered by the mayor, which tarnishes Nice’s image.
My duty today is therefore to propose a credible alternative project that meets the needs: Local politics and facilities, economic dynamism, a system for allocating housing, subsidies, and public employment that meets objective and egalitarian criteria, a return to sound financial management…
I have already accomplished much in politics, but becoming mayor of one’s city is, I think, the most beautiful thing when you commit yourself as I have. Becoming mayor would be the culmination of a political journey where my love for my city has guided all my choices.
Nice Premium: What are your three main axes of campaign and, in fact, your three projects inherent in them?
Patrick Allemand: My program will unfold not in three, but in four axes: Just and supportive Nice, United and civic Nice, Creative and stimulating Nice, and Sustainable and convivial Nice. The time for proposals will come very soon now.
Nice Premium: Being a candidate, you need a list. Can you already tell us about some of your running mates?
Patrick Allemand: I am very proud of our list, which is representative both of the Left’s gathering, with representatives from Europe Ecology the Greens, MRC, PRG, Left Otherwise, the Left Party and the social and territorial diversity of our city. 46 professions are represented from all over the city, and there are also several business leaders.
We are far from the cliché that a leftist list = a congregation of civil servants and association leaders. We were the first to publish our list to start the campaign together. It is unfair to single out any co-candidate(s), but I am particularly delighted with the presence of Dominique Boy-Mottard. Her presence is a symbol of unity and marks the Left’s willingness to win.
Facing Christian Estrosi, victory is a duty.
Nice Premium: An election is also about opponents. How do you judge yours?
Patrick Allemand: My only true opponent is the outgoing mayor, and I am his only true opponent, as he has stated himself. He has an incontestable hold on all decision-making levers, which he uses and abuses. The idea of the prince has become a mode of governance, leading to both a comical and insufferable personality cult and incomprehensible decisions, like the underground project for Tramway Line 2, which will lead the city to financial ruin if not stopped. Under these conditions, any hostile vote against the incumbent that strays to another list would be a lost vote.
But to win this election, criticizing this catastrophic record won’t be enough. We must propose an alternative project that appeals to the people of Nice. This is what I have been working on day and night for many months with my running mates.
Nice Premium: What is the most urgent issue in the city?
Patrick Allemand: Putting an end to the underground project for Line 2 to return to a surface route. Such a decision would prevent the city’s finances from going deep into the red and would help finance local projects for our neighborhoods, prevent delivering Ray to real estate developers, and also launch Line 3 to the grand stadium and extend Line 1 to L’Ariane and La Trinité. This underground project will be the main issue of these elections because around it revolves two opposing visions of Nice’s future.
Nice Premium: What will be your schedule until March 23 and your major milestones?
Patrick Allemand: I don’t want to give too many details to my opponents about my schedule because I want to keep the lead I gained by presenting all my running mates. But, everything is already planned. We revealed the list so early to be ready for what’s essential: Convincing the people of Nice that we have the best project. That’s the next step of our campaign.
Nice Premium: We are at the evening of the first round. In what position do you imagine yourself?
Patrick Allemand: In a position of gathering. The people of Nice will understand on the evening of the 1st round that there are only two alternatives for this city. The financial and egocentric headlong rush of the incumbent or another future for Nice built with all the people of Nice around me. I must be able at that time to gather beyond my camp by opposing a project of general interest to an autocratic drift.
Nice Premium: There is much talk about the rise of the extremes, your view on this subject?
Patrick Allemand: Like all Republicans, it’s a phenomenon that worries me. With the ongoing crisis, the rise of the far-right is noticeable even if it might not be as spectacular as expected, especially in the municipal elections where the lack of local establishment of FN candidates should be a disadvantage for them. The parachuting of Mrs. Arnautu, who wouldn’t be able to find her way between Place St François and Place Rossetti, is the best example.
But what worries me the most is the unhealthy climate that’s been created with a release of racist speech not seen since the 1930s. The Dieudonné affair is emblematic, but it’s not the only one. That an UMP mayor (Gilles Bourdouleix) would dare to say that Hitler didn’t kill enough travelers is very serious, and such unimaginable slips just a few years ago are multiplying.
I believe the UMP bears a heavy responsibility for this deleterious atmosphere. With these stories of supposedly unbridled right aiming to hunt on FN’s grounds, all they’ve managed to do is legitimize the far-right’s discourse, which has normalized to a very worrying point. They do not understand that it’s not by losing their honor that they will win elections.
Nice Premium: You will be a happy candidate if and only if… ?
Patrick Allemand: When we win.
