“I am renewing my urgent request for intervention on your part. I know that you are not insensitive to what is happening in the provinces and I dare to hope that Nice will not be an exception to the rule for the Party leadership. Socialist regards, Lucien.” Lucien is Lucien Fouques, the secretary of the Socialist Party’s Nice Centre section. He seeks François Hollande’s intervention after two letters were sent by the federation’s treasurer and the deputy federal secretary. “The first suggests that members’ dues would be withheld by the treasurers, implying for unknown use, while in truth, most militants refuse to engage further with our Federation’s practices. The second hints at the threat of exclusion, which would affect all Socialist signatories of this support committee, and requests they send back a statement saying they no longer support Patrick MOTTARD to escape sanctions.”
Lucien Fouques is part of the “Mottard clan.” He calls the process “shameful blackmail.” It would concern 500 members from Nice. For now, none of them have yielded, continuing to be attached to their party while supporting Patrick Mottard. “They hope to scare people. Around us, people are outraged and do not understand the process. It does not go down well with the members. It would remove between 400 and 500 members out of the 2,000 in Nice,” explains Lucien Fouques.
What does he hope from François Hollande? “We hope that François Hollande will see the opportunity not to weaken the left and pose the question of the party’s interest.” This is the third letter sent to the PS leader. So far, only one response: “My dear Lucien, I regret the current climate in Nice. It’s not in division that we achieve victories.” The war of the Patricks continues. Each side’s strategy is not to attack each other and only focus on fighting the right. On each side, everyone knows each other thoroughly, spies on each other, and is aware of everything happening in each camp, which only increases tensions.
