Nice Première: Jérôme Rivière, a 4×3 poster campaign in the City of Nice. Can you tell us more?
Jérôme Rivière: As May 1st opens the period during which all expenditures of candidates in the legislative elections must be tracked in a campaign account, I wanted to mark my strong presence in Nice. Since commercial poster campaigns are banned one year before the elections, it seemed important to show my determination to influence our collective future.
The theme that my team and I chose was that of values. Beyond any partisan affiliation, politicians must affirm their commitment to a foundation of convictions. Mine are deeply conservative. I believe in the values of family, work, and thus in recognizing effort and merit. Respect for the Republican order is also a principle that should never be compromised. Lastly, I believe in the indispensable role of the state as a regulator and setter of economic rules. Market laws must be framed by the notion of public good, of service to the public.
Ultimately, these values have a future, at least that’s what we affirmed in this campaign. At 42, yes, I have the ambition in my field of expertise—politics—to be one of the foremost figures in Nice.
NP: Could this be a preview of the upcoming municipal elections in Nice?
JR: To remain indifferent to the fate of our city, while I am one of its four deputies, would be rather negligent. If I decide to participate in the municipal deadline, it will certainly not be as a co-candidate, but to present a renewed team and an ambitious project for the city. By then, we will already have been in the 21st century for 8 years… I don’t get the impression every day that it involves projects, women, and/or men who are active.
NP: Who do you think might be the candidates at the next municipal milestone?
JR: Two years before the election, that’s a question to which I’m sure to provide a poor answer. What is certain is that I hope for numerous candidacies. The people of Nice should be able to choose from many alternatives. On the right, we are sometimes obsessed with union at any cost. That, I believe, is a mistake. If the offer is broad, voters turn out because they know their choice matters!
Let’s not forget that in 1995, Nice had a four-way race in the second round with three lists offered to the right-wing voter: the RPR-UDF lists of JP Barety, that of J Peyrat, and that of FN by JP Gost. This wide offer mobilized the voters and the left did not win…
NP: What assessment would you make of the last mandate of Jacques Peyrat and do you think he will be a candidate again?
JR: It’s still too early to evaluate the work in progress. Today we experience the discomfort and live in perpetual disorganization inherent in such projects. But it’s not on this type of balance sheet that my main criticism would reside.
What I expect from a Mayor is that he shows in his actions that he loves his city and its inhabitants. We are the fourth or fifth city in France, even the people of Nice seem to have forgotten that! I want to see Nice shine, to give our Bay of Angels the momentum that it currently lacks. For this, we need Nice women and men living in a safe, clean, ambitious city.
Our excellence is in hosting tourists, whether here for business or leisure. We will become the best again if the people of Nice are happy in Nice!
NP: Before the municipal election, there will be the presidential election. Have you already chosen your favorite?
JR: No, it’s a difficult choice and I will be very observant of the project for our country.
NP: In a few words, what do you think of:
Nicolas Sarkozy: He has the right discourse, now these words must be followed by concrete actions.
Dominique de Villepin: He was right about the CPE (First Employment Contract), we should not have yielded. So why accept the cowardice of part of the majority?
Philippe de Villiers: The only one to clearly address the problem of the Islamization of our society.
Ségolène Royal: An image, but I absolutely do not know the substance of her thoughts. What is she proposing for France?
Lionel Jospin: As I said earlier, we are now in the 21st century!
Dieudonné: An anti-Semite who professes anti-white racism.
NP: What’s the latest from the Deputy of the first constituency of Nice?
In the first week of May, I am at the National Assembly for the immigration bill. We must not mistake the debate. Indeed, it is not a question of whether France should remain a land of welcome and asylum for the most destitute… The answer has long been given: enough is enough!
So, I know some will try to guilty our compatriots by discussing their lack of generosity. But no one can be fooled anymore. Successive economic crises, housing problems, and difficult social choices require us to finally carry out a policy of real control over immigration.
NP: And finally, your dearest wish for this year 2006?
JR: That politicians live up to what the French expect. To move beyond the war of images to truly discuss the future of our country.
