He was once expected to be a possible candidate in Nice or La Trinité, but we find him now as the campaign director for the Front National candidate, Marie-Christine Arnautu, for the upcoming municipal elections in Nice. A career initiated alongside Jacques Peyrat followed by a rapid rise, who really is Gaël Nofri?
Nice-Premium Is Christian Estrosi, the outgoing mayor, alone against all, a probable scenario? What will be the positioning on the political chessboard? Will this election be played on the record of this mandate or on the program of the next one?
Gaël Nofri: The framework of the upcoming municipal election now appears clear. It presents Christian Estrosi, outgoing local and national elected representative, with his record and the consequences of his political choices, against what might well be called the fresh candidacy of Marie-Christine Arnautu. Besides that, if I may say it frankly, there are only figureheads from political parties losing momentum, incapable of presenting a real opposition to the Mayor of Nice. Those and some egos are sometimes substantial, but are quite insufficient for the debate that concerns us.
You see, I don’t believe in set formulas: An election is either about a record, or a program, a person or a list… In reality, a municipal election is a complex alchemy, a combination of all these elements.
No one can conceive the candidacy of Christian Estrosi independently of his six-year record. The delay in tramway line 2, the abandonment of the high-speed rail project, retaining the prison in Pasteur, the exorbitant cost of the grand stadium’s ambiguous financial setup, the pawned future of the Libération-Malausséna district, the impoverishment of the city center, the abysmal debt of the Metropolis… who will claim these aren’t important? Nevertheless, a municipal election cannot be reduced to past issues: It is first and foremost about the future of the coast. For this, development projects and a vision for the territory must be proposed, along with commitments on fiscal matters as well… I fear, for example, that a re-election of Christian Estrosi would mean an even greater increase in local tax rates than the one he implemented right after his 2008 election. A 20% increase has a direct and immediate consequence for the people of Nice… a lasting consequence as well, since it applies for six years!
I would also add that local politics cannot be summarized by purely municipal debates… These are certainly necessary and healthy, but they must be integrated into a much broader reflection… What do voters expect from their Mayor? A better quality of life… and indeed this better living inevitably involves denouncing national choices that have been detrimental to the country, to our population, to our quality of life. Immigrationism, globalism, which are ideologies and not inevitable facts, are among these bad choices. I do not believe that those elected officials who have voted for, supported, or condoned the Lisbon Treaty, the Schengen agreements, or a socially preferential immigration policy, are capable of offering anything different from what is already in place: managing emergencies, seasoning decadence.
Nice-Premium: You are the campaign director for Marie-Christine Arnautu, a “parachuted” candidate. How can she be recognized and accepted by the people of Nice as one of their own? And what impact will national politics have in an election that is fundamentally local, as its aim is to elect the mayor of Nice!
Gaël Nofri: I believe in local roots, in outreach work and listening… This is the work I have tried to implement daily. I know that Marie-Christine Arnautu shares the same concerns, the same values, the same approach in this matter. You see, engaging in proximity is primarily a political choice: a mindset, a willingness to reach out to others. My conviction is that the personal qualities and values of the campaign carried by Marie-Christine Arnautu will meet the legitimate expectations of the population in this area, much more than those who entrench themselves in a distant stance, in a refusal of debate, in disdain for the community and neighborhood associations… and in a pathetic race for the Élysée too.
I believe the impact of national politics cannot be dissociated from local politics: it is a matter of consistency. Acting tough in Nice only to play the emasculated in Paris can only lead to frustrations and thereby more animosity. You cannot explain something here and accept to support its opposite there… We have an illustration of this phenomenon with the Roma issue. How can one explain the mayor of Nice’s violent and vehement attitude even though it was the Government he belonged to that allowed Romania and Bulgaria to enter the EU? It was he who opened the door to Schengen for them… While it was his party that supported the accession of these two countries to Schengen in the European Parliament.
Nice-Premium: We are on the evening of the first round. What result do you expect?
Gaël Nofri: I’m neither a fortune teller nor do I master tarot cards well. What is certain is that the Left is discredited: Due to its national failures, of course, but also because of its inability over the past six years to embody a real opposition, a credible and constructed alternative. For Patrick Allemand, time has passed, and I believe he knows it as well; his contested and contestable designation in a listless atmosphere and with latent oppositions is merely an expression of a deeper reality. Other than that, politics cannot be driven by a desire for revenge, bitterness, or personal hatred…
That’s not what the people of Nice expect to break away from the ossified and clientelist vision that currently defines Nice, to extricate from the imminent danger it faces. For Nice, there needs to be a vision of general interest, independence in political approach, realism in promises… There needs to be something new and quickly!
Nice-Premium: What alliances or withdrawals in the second round?
Gaël Nofri: I wouldn’t be able to tell you… The only thing I can say is that there should be consistency concerning the rhetoric used: last-minute alliances after months of opposition can only stem from political calculations, not genuine convictions.
Politics in Nice is generally a quagmire. It would be good to inject some value and conviction to avoid opportunistic alliances. Unnatural alliances understandably exasperate our fellow citizens…
Nice-Premium: To conclude, let’s talk about you. Will you be in the second position on the Front National list as is whispered in the corridors?
Gaël Nofri: Marine Le Pen suggested this possibility in her interview on January 19 in Nice-Matin. I am not demanding anything. I have proven my commitment to local political life for 10 years… Today, I agreed to lead Madame Arnautu’s campaign without asking for anything in return, without making any demands. I sincerely believe that other people can legitimately aspire to the second position; I am not in a squabble over ego, but in the pursuit of public utility.
It is up to Marie-Christine Arnautu, in agreement with Marine Le Pen, to determine my place and role, to answer the only question that truly matters in the end: whether in opposition or majority, can I contribute something to the municipal council in the coming six years? It is through the lens of this question that I hope to be judged.
