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The call of the municipal council on this 27th of June was made, and the session could begin. It was a council in two halves, with the first period dedicated to the designation of Deputy Delegates for the upcoming Senatorial elections. The recent resignations had somewhat reconfigured the opposition of the Republican Alliance, but calm prevailed at least for this first period within a municipal council with a summer atmosphere.
There were four lists present: Nice Ensemble, Changez d’Ere, Entente Républicaine, and For a Social and Participative Republic, with, respectively, Marine Brenier, Christine Dorejo, Guy Geles-Ducarme, and Louis Fiori as the list leaders. The election could start with the fresco room serving as the polling station. It took just under an hour to account for 69 votes cast out of 69 voters, and the results were unsurprising with 250 mandates for Nice Ensemble, 40 for Changez d’Ere, 13 for Entente Républicaine, and 9 for For a Social and Participative Republic. As for the substitutes, there would be 64 for NE, 10 for CE, 3 for ER, and 2 for FSPR.
The first half could conclude with a short break before the debates resumed to comply with legislation. Everyone could return to their seats, and the new call made by Veronica Vecchioni would give the quorum and the green light for the second part of the council. The minutes from the municipal council of April 14 were approved, with Christian Estrosi opening the debates by summarizing actions taken in the first 100 days of the new mandate.
Patrick Allemand then took the floor for a nearly 20-minute monologue, effectively dismantling the actions of the municipal majority while making an aside to the undocumented protesters demonstrating outside the town hall. “Today, as we celebrate your hundred days, the muted anger of the undocumented echoes under the town hall windows. At the time of the hundred-day review, those with no future count in disillusionment and despair whereas you shout success. It must be noted that, apart from a vast communication operation around your 100 days, you are encountering the harsh reality of managing the city of Nice. You are also realizing that the results fall short of the promises made by candidate Estrosi on February 7 when you were presenting your project.” His 20-minute speech led to heated exchanges with Dominique Estrosi Sasonne, who retorted with “he’s lying” and a spanking gesture that amused the council, before Christian Estrosi intervened with “Respect the opposition’s right to speak, I am not Mr. Peyrat […] Are you able to move towards your conclusion because you are already at 18 minutes, and that is a lot of time for a municipal council of six reports.”
Allemand: Yes, but I am very behind Mr. Mayor, very behind compared to you.
Estrosi: I understand why you are aggressive. Proportionally, you are not far behind, but you represent little in this assembly. Simply put, Mr. Allemand, I believe that others on this podium would not have given you as much time to speak so respectfully.
Allemand: But I acknowledge it.
Estrosi: It’s been over 20 minutes that you’ve been speaking, do not monopolize the floor; we need to work while you “chat.”
Allemand: I believe we are working, Mr. Mayor.
Estrosi: I think not, I don’t even have a comment; I feel sorry for you and those who are your partners, to caricature yourself so much, you know I think it’s difficult to sit next to you.
Allemand: You will concede that there may be another perspective in the city than yours, Mr. Mayor.
Estrosi: You know the perspective, there are 360,000 people from Nice who have that perspective; it may not be your perspective that interests me, it’s that of the people of Nice. I trust them, if you’d like we can go out into the street, and you’ll understand immediately.
Allemand: We don’t see the same people.
Estrosi: You probably don’t see many at all.
Allemand: I also trust the people of Nice, and it is precisely to enlighten their thinking that I offer them our perspective on the 100 days.
Next, it was the turn of the other opposition, the Republican Alliance, to deliver their own account of the 100 days in 10 minutes. Christian Estrosi did not miss the opportunity to comment on the recent events in the group, which now only has two representatives on the council: “We are aware of your objective alliance; maybe that’s why some of your colleagues wished to dissociate themselves from you.”
This was followed by heated deliberations such as the implementation of the blue bikes between Eric Ciotti and Yann Librati.
Finally, Mr. Mayor launched into a long speech about his 100-day record at the helm of the municipality while thanking the opposition “who sometimes helped to add to our measures.” The municipal council concluded with a two-hour delay on the scheduled time.
