Eric Ciotti eliminated them with a somewhat Calvinist gesture, choosing instead to donate an amount equivalent to their costs to a fund helping victims of the early October weekend’s adverse weather.
Christian Estrosi, on the other hand, did not give up his annual fair, mingling with the “people” he cares for so much. A bit of a Nicewood style, you might say? But after all, if people enjoy it, why deprive them?
In the presence of civil and military authorities, with all national, municipal, metropolitan, departmental, and regional elected officials arranged in a circle, the multi-elected deputy, president of the PACA region, president of the Nice Côte d’Azur metropolis, and mayor of Nice addressed over 5,000 public agents and their families (representing the 12,000 people in total) with a long speech outlining the achievements of past years’ major public works in Nice and the metropolitan area.
He also sketched some directives for his future actions in his new regional responsibility, with particular emphasis on economic development competency and direct management of relationships with European policies that could open up great opportunities.
In these cases, it is often said that the eye (and the stomach) seeks its share! Attendees were treated to a delicious buffet and an enticing show.
In any case, it was a very composed Christian Estrosi, calm after the tough blow of the regional elections, who spoke with a promising republican stance.
Moreover, he had stated himself after his victory against the “blondie” who turned what should have been a walk in the park into a path of tribulation: “this campaign changed me profoundly,” he expressed after his election as regional president.
And if words have meaning and significance, these wishes have presented a Christian Estrosi with a new vision that could write beautiful pages locally and nationally.
Forget ideologies, criticizing the opponent for criticism’s sake, and the good versus evil dichotomy. Embrace pragmatism, understanding others’ reasons, and compromise that does not mean surrender, the common values that unite rather than the differences that separate.
In these challenging times, when finding the right path isn’t always easy, it’s much more useful to search for it together instead of dividing over futile disputes.
Ultimately, isn’t the synthesis in this double question Christian Estrosi asked himself?: “Does this make me a leftist? It’s ridiculous to claim so. Does this make me a right-winger? Probably.”
The conclusion stands as a commitment: “I believe in the republican order and the power of the State. It’s in this sovereign, pragmatic, unifying, and regal action that I recognize myself.”
See you next year to verify if the given word was a kept word.
