Criticized for some time for holding multiple roles (Mayor of Nice and President of the Metropolis, President of the PACA region, national deputy), symbolizing a voracity for power, Christian Estrosi rebounded promptly with the skill of a former motorcycle champion to take turns at the right time and with the speed that allows for the correct trajectory and a quicker return to pace.
“Promise made, promise kept, next Wednesday I will resign from my role as a deputy where I have been elected since 1988,” announced the mayor of Nice.
After the well-crafted excuses of appeals and decisions from legal bodies that allowed him to buy some time, the moment has come to set things in the right order.
Regarding the mayor’s office, moving the Metropolis headquarters from the Arénas to the Nice city hall will allow him to have his successor within voice and arm’s reach, who will act as a spokesperson, a kind of ventriloquist mayor. Furthermore, many responsibilities have already been transferred from the municipalities to the Metropolis (the most recent being the Port of Nice), and others will follow.
In fact, Christian Estrosi will retain control over Nice and its metropolitan area.
As for the deputy role, the election to the presidency of the Region, with the expanded responsibilities of the NOTRe law and the role assigned to regions, confers on Christian Estrosi a status far superior to that of a simple deputy.
Ultimately, it was time to turn the page and comply with the law prohibiting the accumulation of mandates, which will be effective after 2017.
A new election will therefore take place in the 5th constituency of the Alpes-Maritimes in the coming weeks, allowing the replacement of a veteran of parliamentary life (Christian Estrosi was first elected there in 1988) by a “newcomer” or perhaps by … a “newcomer” woman?
