It was just a formality but the Municipal Council, gathered for the first session of its term, elected Christian Estrosi as mayor of Nice.
He enjoys a large majority (52 elected members out of 69) and faces 3 opposition groups: the National Front with 7 members, the left (Socialist Party) with 6 members, and Olivier Bettati’s group with 4 members.
“It is with emotion that I receive this sash from Charles Gotlieb, a former deportee to Auschwitz. I want Nice to be exemplary in a vast municipal democracy. What should unite us is the interest of Nice and the happiness of its people. Our primary duty: To defend the interests of the people of Nice and ensure their protection,” said a visibly happy Christian Estrosi in his inauguration speech.
An engagement that, let us hope, will go beyond a mere statement of principle and will require, above all, respect for the opposition that, together with the majority, forms the body of representative democracy.
It will not always be easy because the statements made by Madame Arnautu on behalf of the National Front hinted at a firm attitude even though her zigzagging remarks were loudly contested by the many attendees (But who organized this so unrestrained and disrespectful applause in an institutional setting?).
In a more classic tone, and reprising the key points of his electoral project, was the intervention of Patrick Allemand, leading a group (socialists and greens) that underwent a serious slimming cure at the polls. Meanwhile, Olivier Bettati and his group, on this day of formalities, adhered to the rules of republican courtesy.
In his speech, Christian Estrosi launched the first project of his second term: to accomplish in 100 days, 10 of the commitments from his campaign project:
Regulation of public markets, appointment of a mediator, establishment of an ethics committee, opening of a health reference center, opening of two new nurseries, establishment of a driver’s license coverage plan for young people in exchange for social utility work hours, reorganization of the road and local urban furniture maintenance system, authorization of parking from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. in delivery zones, opening of a victim support house, sanctions for canine dejections, monthly publication of municipal police results and request for the same procedure for the National Police, creation of the Nice club for sports and cultural patronage, and launching of landscaping contests for the redevelopment of the Ray Stadium and the Promenade des Anglais could be part of the first projects implemented from Monday.
The highlight of the day was the nomination/election of deputy mayors and the allocation of delegations.
No big surprises on this subject, the list of deputy mayors faithfully reproduces the electoral list, and the delegations remain, with minimal changes, almost the same as under the previous mandate.
Moreover, the majority municipal team exemplifies continuity, and only the names of the delegations reflect a lexical fancy that requires much imagination to understand their meaning and action content.
In any case, between political balances, ambitions and demands, the skills and loyalty of one another, each had to be given their piece of real or fake power! The key players in the setup are well on the front line, while the rest of the team settles for the ranks of foot soldiers, or sometimes mere observers.
But, let’s be clear, with Christian Estrosi, it’s a classic case of a man who commands with “collaborators” executing. After all, this worked very well during the first term.
The next municipal council meeting is scheduled for Friday, April 18, with a topic set to already set the tone: The budget!
