Mayor of Nice from 1995 to 2008 and a key figure in local politics, Jacques Peyrat launches into a swan song on the occasion of the 2014 municipal elections. If Virgil wrote “fugit irreparable time”, in his time “grey hair” was a sign of decrepitude and the third age, now called senior, had not yet found its place in society.
Today, the context has changed and it is always with amazement that we see Jacques Peyrat, master of rhetoric, hold the stage as if time had no effect. The ideas are still clear, the sequences follow a logical thread, and the contents make sense.
The team he presented is a mix between experienced loyalists (about ten former advisors and deputies from his two terms) and people representing all strata of civil society.
A common denominator: To have or have had a real profession to avoid the example — says Jacques Peyrat — “of those who instead of serving… serve themselves!”
He who has never digested the disrespectful behaviors of his successor, who claimed to have found the town hall as “fields of ruins and a museum of horror,” without a party to support him and without alliances, hopes to play the spoiler against him who remains, despite the time passed, his true target.
Another element that pushes the former mayor out of his bounds: Christian Estrosi’s unfortunate habit of appropriating initiatives and achievements put in place by Jacques Peyrat, which the current mayor has quickly claimed credit for.
In short, an impostor surrounded by “ectoplasms without a backbone, who do the opposite of what they say and are always ready to change their tune.”
Regarding the program, we should note some strong axes and innovative ideas:
1 – Taxation: A financial audit to know the real state and then strong control of expenses in the face of a debt (municipality + metropolis) nearing 1.5 billion euros
2 – Security: 120 additional municipal police officers and an organization of the police by territory (community policing)
3 – Proximity: 8 territories and eventually 4 districts with the presence of administrative agents, municipal police officers, cleaning services, gardens, and small-scale urban maintenance
5 – Culture: Creation of an Auditorium for popular shows at Halle Spada; return of the Military Music Festival, the Theater Festival, and the Contemporary Art Fair. Revival of the Victorine studios after the lease expires in 2018, and staging a Le Puy du Fou type show on the Castle Hill.
6 – Mobility: Line 2 of the tramway on the surface, with extension of line 3 to connect the OIN area (of which he claims the paternity of establishment during the Villepin government) and the new stadium. And, an absolute novelty, line 4 from Nice Etoile to Cap de Croix
7 – Renovation and enlargement of the Port of Nice at its current location
As mentioned at the beginning, the ideas are clear and abundant. Now the most difficult part: To disseminate them and make them appreciated by the voters.
