It’s not easy to be both part of the presidential majority and in parliamentary opposition (at least in effect) on a national level, while also being allies (each organized in their own group with distinct behaviors) with other left-wing parties in departmental, metropolitan, and municipal opposition!
As Jacques Victor (General Councilor of the 3rd Canton of Nice) rightly said during his new year’s wishes to a handful of supporters, “in politics, everything is connected,” yet it is true that juggling different positions and expressing a political stance which could be called ‘variable geometry’ is not simple.
Let’s try to understand Jacques Victor’s words:
“2012 was the year that allowed us to liberate France from Sarkozy and his destructive policy against public services and social policy.”
But to do what? To stick to his policy in order to respect this pseudo-stability European Treaty?
That’s not why people voted.”
And to continue: “There is a crisis, but for whom? For the working and middle classes who are moving from disillusionment to anger!”
“We must not give this demagogic and nauseating right the opportunity to return and for that the government must implement a solidarity policy with appropriate financial decisions.”
This on a national level. Locally, the communist elected official is no less severe:
“We scored good points with our initiatives that saved the Costanzo Center from real estate speculation, whereas the Laure Ecart Center in Saint-Roch, built on the Peugeot garage site, is already ‘the’ cultural and sports venue of the neighborhood. Likewise, we can only appreciate the new housing for students and the elderly.”
The priority objectives for 2013?
Access to Riquier station and trains for people with reduced mobility (ongoing contacts with the relevant organizations raise hopes for a short-term solution: the modification of route 2 and particularly at the planned tunnel which an appeal has been filed in the Court for, the improvement of traffic and parking in the neighborhood.
To conclude with a cry of alarm for the lack of social housing (we know that Nice is far from presenting the percentage required by law of 25%, as it currently stands at just over 11%).
This cry turns into anger when one thinks, says Jacques Victor, that a 1000 m² building, unused for several years, owned by a public establishment could be sold to a private developer instead of being used for the construction of social housing.
And furthermore, the concession to a national-scale real estate developer (the same one who was supposed to carry out the real estate program) will benefit from the permit for a speculative operation in Parc Auvaire with the construction of 182 housing units).
Jacques Victor doesn’t shy away from being direct: his conception of city management is different from that loud, egotistic, and media-savvy one of Christian Estrosi.
For him, another policy is possible, must be possible to break away from financial policies on a national level and for a better quality of life in Nice.
“Nothing will happen without us”, he wants to believe. Hence the necessity for a rallying list of left-wing forces in the next municipal election to achieve the goal of putting the current majority in minority?
Naturally without renouncing a position and policy of autonomy compared to other parties that have their place on the left of the political spectrum.
Why make it simple when you can make it complicated!
