Juliette CHESNEL LE ROUX, candidate for Les Verts- Europe Écologie, presents a well-structured program for the 8th canton with the support of the PS and the Occitan Party. Needless to say, no subject is overlooked!
N-P: Can you introduce yourself to our readers?
JCLR: I am 48 years old, married, and have three teenage children. A microelectronics engineer, I am a graduate of EPF (Sceaux) and Stanford University, and I have been working at Texas Instruments (Villeneuve-Loubet) for 25 years. I am a CFDT union delegate and a member of the works council there.
N-P: What was the origin of your political engagement?
JCLR: I joined the Green Party in 1992, at the birth of my eldest daughter, when I started questioning, “What kind of world are we going to leave her?”
N-P: Could you tell us about your journey as an activist?
JCLR: As a member of the Green Party, I was a candidate in the 2002 legislative elections in the constituency that includes the 8th canton, alongside Jean-François Knecht (PS general councilor of the 11th canton). We achieved the best score of Green candidacies across the entire PACA Region. The 8th canton was our most favorable area, placing us second ahead of the FN. I was elected an Ecologist Regional Councilor from 2004 to 2010, part of Michel Vauzelle’s majority. I served as vice-president of the Economic Development-Europe committee. I also participated in the Employment and Culture commissions, as well as the board of directors of AREA (an agency notably responsible for the construction of high schools).
During my mandate, I consistently worked on employment development in our region, supporting innovative measures to aid business creation and the reintegration of people in difficulty, while also supporting the PRIDES (Regional Poles of Innovation and Economic Development Projects) which enable small and large companies to cooperate with research centers and universities and share governance models. Together with the architects and engineers at AREA, we worked towards constructing more ecological buildings.
N-P: Why are you a candidate in this election?
JCLR: For several reasons, which I will detail for you:
a) Why an Europe-Ecologie-Les Verts (EELV) candidacy?
This canton benefits from an EELV candidacy supported by the Socialist Party and the “Partit Occitan”.
We needed to unite our forces for this first round against the outgoing candidate, already the deputy mayor and general councilor for this canton for two terms. The local challenge is to offer an alternative to the voters of the 8th canton, especially the young people, who overwhelmingly vote Green.
The national challenge is to assess, on a right-wing soil, the potential of such a candidacy in the second round, considering that the majority two-round voting system resembles those of the 2012 presidential and legislative elections. If the potential is significant, other parties will no longer be able to overlook ecological issues in their program.
b) Why Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux as the candidate?
My experience as a Niçoise ecologist activist and regional elected official allows me to offer a guarantee of seriousness and chance of success.
N-P: Would you like to outline the main points of your program?
JCLR: 10 Good reasons to vote Europe-Ecologie Les Verts with Juliette Chesnel-Le Roux
1 – For healthy, sustainable, and supportive management.
We will ensure the use of public funds for long-term policies that respect the environment and individuals. This will allow investments in key areas (social, housing, education, prevention, etc.) in reaction to the scandalous management of the Ciotti team:
. 17% increase in local taxes,
. 3rd most indebted department in France, with debt representing 68.4% of the overall budget in 2010.
. Increase in tax for traders and small entrepreneurs by transforming the Professional Tax into CET (Territorial Economic Contribution).
. Lavish, flashy, and expensive communication.
2 – For employment and the ecological transformation of the economy.
Regarding the primary concern of the French, employment, the General Council of the Alpes Maritimes is far behind compared to what is done elsewhere in France.
The Alpes Maritimes department intervenes minimally or not at all in co-financing aids to employment support mechanisms, business creation, and enterprise creation. A lot of communication but few concrete actions. According to the professionals in charge of project carriers, politicians from the General Council of AM are notable for their absence and lack of motivation on the innovative mechanisms present in other French departments, including on concepts born in our country, and which are adopted abroad due to their usefulness and relevance.
It is through a proactive policy of supporting local and innovative employment that the people of the Côte d’Azur, especially the young, can continue to work locally and make our department attractive in terms of economic development. Didn’t the environmental Grenelle plan provide for the creation of 600,000 jobs in France in the “green economy”? Our department is delayed, and the undue excitement over an Eco-Valley that is still largely imaginary and without content will not change the job situation in the near future. Ecologists have already experienced this theme of employment in numerous territories during their presence in local authority bodies, notably the Regions, including in PACA, in recent years.
We know that employment remains the overarching concern of French citizens.
But the “layer” of the department in the famous French millefeuille here, in the Alpes Maritimes, hinders these new approaches. Let us recognize the CG06 technicians; they bear no responsibility for this inadequacy. They are as well-trained as elsewhere, but when the political will is not forthcoming…they too become discouraged. Where are the many jobs we could assist by offering lodging and support worthy of what is done elsewhere? They are in SMEs-TPEs where innovative projects lie dormant because business leaders lack the resources and time needed to bring them to life. Yet mechanisms exist to help them “birth” the jobs of tomorrow. A know-how has developed over the years on these techniques but only under the impulse of the PACA Regional Council. It is time for CG06’s political level to get up to date. It will be the duty of ecologists to constantly remind there can be no pause in this ongoing aid we must offer to our fellow citizens on employment and project-related themes. Moreover, and in line with our complementary themes, we will restore agriculture’s place locally, preferably organic. We will develop green tourism and support socially and ecologically responsible businesses. A renovation and insulation program for old buildings will revive the construction sector.
The Alpes Maritimes is a forested department; let’s develop a true wood industry. Innovations in the renewable energy sectors must be a source of local industry development.
3 – For social action fighting inequalities.
Aimed at the poorest, RSA recipients, the elderly, people with disabilities, early childhood… for more social justice.
We advocate genuine support in administrative procedures, especially in obtaining the APA (Personalized Autonomy Allowance), so that the elderly can stay at home as long as possible and create jobs of proximity and solidarity that are not relocatable.
We advocate real communication, which will not be limited to a promotional brochure for the president of the General Council but will inform the elderly about the services intended for them and help families. Indeed, today in the General Council in charge of the APA, the files are so cumbersome that too many rightful beneficiaries cannot complete them.
4 – For fast, safe, practical, non-polluting, and quiet public transportation.
I advocate for cooperation between department 06, the cities, and the PACA Region to implement a single fare system like the orange card and coordinate schedules between bus and TER networks. Development of dedicated bus lanes and secure bike paths. A renewal of buses for a fleet running on GLV (methane) or LPG.
5 – For quality housing.
Assistance is needed for the renovation and insulation of both old and social housing to reduce households’ energy expenses and CO2 emissions.
We also want to create micro-nurseries housed in apartments in the social housing portfolio.
6 – For quality colleges ensuring equal access to education.
The general council, responsible for colleges, must offer young people quality buildings with reliable supervision and provide parents with tools for enhanced communication with teaching teams.
We will generalize agenda-21 in every college, allowing for energy and materials savings, as well as “organic” food in canteens. We want to ensure colleges are open in the evenings and on weekends to make spaces available to adolescents: sporting, artistic, and recreational infrastructure (skateparks, etc.) with associative management.
7 – To organize sanitary prevention for improved quality of life and eliminate a poor environment.
A protected environment is essential: global prevention and monitoring in the Environment-Health domain must be established. This is to avoid toxic sources or those making us sick (incinerators, road traffic pollution, electromagnetic waves like relay antennas, toxic substances used in various domains).
8 – For a protected environment.
The Var aquifer provides drinking water to 600,000 people. It is on this space they call “Eco-valley” that our local leaders plan to launch concreting projects and reduce agricultural and natural spaces.
Let us remember the catastrophic example of the Balcons du Mercantour where the president of the Mercantour Park (MM Estrosi then Ciotti) was convicted for destructive works in a protected ecological area. On the contrary, we want to promote a department where agriculture is genuinely valued. Biodiversity is a common good that we must preserve for future generations.
9 – For everyone’s peace.
Rather than resorting to shock operations, video surveillance, or denunciation policies among neighbors, let us institute prevention through a permanent, reassuring presence in sufficient numbers of police officers, educators, and associations allowing everyone, young and old, to live together.
10 – To respect our local culture and way of life.
Being able to choose to “live, work, and decide locally”. Preserve our proximity public services. Promote our linguistic and cultural heritage. Encourage live performances in the metropolis and all villages.
N-P: What is your view on politics in general?
JCLR: In the absence of genuine participatory democracy, political parties remain the main centers of power and vectors of change in society.
Why should ecological action in general do without this lever?
Ecologist elected officials are the relay for other activist forms (associative, media, foundations, social forums…) allowing to orient public policies, and thereby human societies, insofar as ecological consideration is a global awareness.
The values of ecology are now well-known: democracy, solidarity, freedom, sharing, preservation of biodiversity, and the planet’s resources for the benefit of future generations, North-South relationship equity, gender equality, and human dignity.
N-P: What do you think of the political situation in Nice?
JCLR: In Nice, as elsewhere, citizens need the attention of public authorities responsible for protecting them within the framework of the social and republican contract.
Protection of small traders against the strong competition from large surfaces. Protection of the elderly, people with disabilities, isolated parents, young people dropping out, etc.
Feedback shows that the department’s mandatory competencies are not readily accessible to the public. The APA (Personalized Autonomy Allocation) files are too heavy and complex to complete.
Schoolchildren with difficulties are identified for potential suspensions of family allowances (law introduced by Eric Ciotti), but support structures for young people are lacking.
The innovative mechanisms for employment support and activity creation are insufficiently supported in our department and exist only through the will of the Regional Council.
The departmental team’s environmental respect is reflected in the events of the “Balcons du Mercantour” where elected officials MM Estrosi and Ciotti were reprimanded by the justice system for non-compliance with a protected area. With such precedents, how can they be trusted regarding the so-called “Eco-Valley” project in the Var plain?
The current majority’s policy is more focused on form (Communication) than content.
N-P: What is your prediction for this election?
JCLR: Abstention will likely be high in this poll.
The rise of extreme right parties (FN and Identitaires) risks becoming a reality.
Olivier Bettati’s membership in a disfavored UMP majority will be a handicap for him, despite the significant resources he is investing in his campaign. His close association with MP-Mayor Christian Estrosi and MP-President Eric Ciotti is not necessarily an advantage.
Our prediction for March 20: combining the forces of ecologists, socialists, and regionalist voters, we believe we can reach the second position for the second round as in the 2002 legislative and 2004 cantonal elections (supported by Green candidate Remy Gaechter).
As for March 27, our fate will depend on various and varied transfers of votes.
