Nice Premium: Thomas Côte, how would you analyze these recent elections?
Thomas Côte: I would say they were difficult due to the political context. Right after a weekend of the second round of regional elections, we expected a strong presence of politicized unions and associations. The challenge was to withstand that. Otherwise, these elections clearly demonstrated the established trust between the student federation FACE 06 and the students. The voter turnout was quite good, and the fact that 2 out of 3 students voted “FACE 06” means we have successfully ingrained ourselves in the students’ minds. They know that FACE 06 is their representative and their student voice. They trust us.
Nice Premium: You were the leading candidate and heavily involved in the campaign, are you satisfied with your results?
Thomas Côte: Yes, we are very satisfied. We did everything to win, and that’s what happened. Over the past 3 months, the campaign preparation intensified. Gradually, it became more present in our minds. We prepared a “communication” team, a schedule, candidate training, and a campaign strategy. We had a minimum goal and a more ambitious one. With the results, we almost achieved the ambitious goal, and we were very pleased. Notably, FACE 06 is making a strong return to the CROUS, which had belonged to UNEF, a left-wing union, for a long time. Absence and inaction were unfortunately customary. From now on, the Student Vice President will be FACE 06, and everything will be the opposite! We are gaining another seat on the University’s Board of Directors, which is excellent, now having 3 elected representatives in this decision-making body. We maintain a strong majority on the Council of Studies and University Life, and therefore also retain the position of Student Vice President of the University.
Nice Premium: We had the impression of more politicization in this recent election, can you confirm that?
Thomas Côte: Not really. There was indeed an attempt to politicize the campaign by union and politicized organizations. Therefore, we prepared ourselves for national supporters, unrelated to Nice, who might come to help them achieve scores. However, society in general, and students more than ever, no longer believe in cutthroat politics. We were right to distinguish ourselves from a political drift in the debates. FACE 06 is politically independent and makes pragmatic, effective, and thoughtful proposals. We work with everyone and with all parties. This enables us to do a good job. But saying the election was politicized is false. The unions tried, the Mèt for example, former UNI and directly related to UMP, had conditioned its launch on this politicization. In Nice, they have been removed from all decision-making bodies. The students have decided: they believe in a new form of representation, and FACE 06 has provided that.
Nice Premium: How did your campaign go and what are the strengths of your program now that you are elected?
Thomas Côte: The campaign went very well, both in form and substance. From a formal viewpoint, we sensitized students well in advance and did not do like the unions, that is, show up on the day to engage in ideological pressing. We took the time to meet students, explain the stakes, and present our program to them. This probably also made the difference. Aside from being exhausting, like any campaign, we have only good memories and the satisfaction of a job well done.
Now elected, our program will continue because we have been working for 2 years already, it is a re-election, not a first election for us. Priority projects are accessibility to the university, meaning access for people with disabilities, the development of information on campuses, especially for foreign students, and a better relationship between the university and high schools, to start reducing the abnormally high failure rate in the first year. Then, we will focus on the gradual modification of teaching methods. The university will compete again with large schools, using modern teaching techniques, more practice in lectures, putting course materials online, and innovative subjects (enhanced foreign language learning, professional preparation and integration, etc.). Finally, we will develop innovative student services to give our university a leading edge: development of renewable energy, installation of new communication technologies by contact, extension of library and dining hours, creation of student jobs, etc.
Nice Premium: Finally, how does Face 06 position itself compared to other student organizations?
Thomas Côte: FACE 06 has always stood out from other student organizations. During the campaign, unions tried to depict us as a right-wing association to the left and a left-wing association to the right. In the end, they discredited themselves because the independence of our federation is clear to everyone. We respect all student organizations, but we do not accept that some use their status to show off or talk about themselves without consistent results for the students’ benefit.
However, we have no competition at present, and the climate is peaceful. We are considered the sole student representative of the department, and we now have two great years to work. I already feel they will be rich and involve everyone, even beyond our federation. With the elections over, we will be happy to work with other organizations and to explore this diversity of ideas, provided, of course, that there is goodwill from them. We are open to everyone seeking the students’ interest and wanting to make a difference!
