The decree concerning the cantons of Alpes-Maritimes for the 2015 departmental council elections has been published in the Official Journal.
It is based on two democratically fundamental principles: the equality of suffrage and the equal access of women and men to electoral mandates and elective functions.
The Alpes-Maritimes are divided into 27 cantons (Nice will have 9) and 7 intercommunalities, including one with the status of Metropolis, Nice Côte Azur.
A first reaction came from Patrick Mottard, the outgoing councilor of canton 5:
“The Nice 5 canton (which retains its name), in compliance with the obligations of the new law, has therefore doubled its population (from 20,000 to 40,000 voters) and in area, recovers the old cantons 6 and 7 to become Nice 5 XXL.
The whole is of great sociological and geographical coherence, even if it can be noted that Nice 5 is electorally classifiable as ‘right’. That said, it was already the case for the current canton, which did not prevent it from trusting me three times (1998, 2004, 2011).
It is without hypocrisy that I can already announce that I will run to become the departmental councilor (the new designation) of this beautiful maxi canton in 2015.
And this for at least 6 reasons:
- Ensuring the completion of the “Gare du sud” project by insisting that the municipality coming out of the polls reconsiders the parking issue in the neighborhood and that the large Hall serves a prestigious cultural purpose.
- Ensuring a beautiful sporting, recreational, and green project, respecting the wishes of the population, is carried out on the Ray grounds.
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Supporting urban renewal in the Trachel sector, respecting the plan suggested by local residents.
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Assisting the transformation of Vernier College into CIJV, so that it becomes the social engine of the south of the new canton.
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Finding solutions to the insecurity developing in certain areas of northern Nice.
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Defending independent local businesses—significantly enhancing the quality of life in our canton—against the proliferation of large stores and franchises.
A completely different tone is the comment from communist representatives Noël ALBIN, Francis TUJAGUE, and Jacques VICTOR, who define this decision as “indecent gerrymandering.”
“In a department where 85% of the territory is in mountainous areas, only 6 cantons, thus 12 councilors, will represent this vast territory, with all the consequences this situation will have on proximity with the populations and their aspirations.
How can we not also note that communist representatives are the primary targets of this arrangement, which, while attempting to secure some manageable cantons for the PS with large scissor cuts and in defiance of territorial realities, mainly preserves the interests of the UMP.
However, two of the cantons with communist representatives fall by the wayside. The case of Nice’s 3rd canton is exemplary in this regard, as, despite perfectly meeting the demographic criteria defined by this law, it has been split across three different cantons. The Escarène canton is simply dissolved into that of Contes.”
