In Nice, the municipal contest is already being prepared behind the scenes, and the decision to set the electoral rendezvous in more than a year does not seem to provoke particular reactions, even if some candidates find themselves more or less advantaged. Jacques Peyrat, the outgoing UMP mayor, sees this decision favorably, considering that the completion of the future Nice tramway will be an asset when it comes time to assess a decade of power. Regarding his candidacy, the Senator Mayor of Nice affirms he is running for re-election, and as of today, it is hard to imagine another candidate unless…
There are rumors, a story being told, that Christian Estrosi, the current President of the General Council and Minister of Territorial Development, could also lay claim to the Nice throne depending on the results of the upcoming presidential and legislative elections. In this case, the UMP would find itself at the heart of a cruel dilemma that will lead to numerous discussions and negotiations within the Côte d’Azur’s right-wing.
Also on the right, Deputy Jérôme Rivière, who has never hidden his intentions to try his luck in the race for the Nice city hall, will have to find a new label after not being endorsed by his UMP party in the upcoming legislative elections, while General Councilor Jean Auguste Icart, whose only label is Nice, will try to do better than the 4.72% of the vote he garnered in 2001. On the far right, no one at the National Front knows yet who the candidate will be to take on the daunting task of surpassing Marie-France Stirbois (11.98% in the first round and 14.21% in the second) from the previous election, while the local identity movement will be presenting a candidate for the first time in Philippe Vardon. Other candidacies seem plausible, such as Gilbert Stellardo, former first deputy banned from the Peyrat team and current main shareholder of OGC Nice, or even Franck De Vita, a Nice lawyer, while regionalist Alain Roullier might also try to surpass his 1.64% from 2001.
Deputy Rudy Salles has no reason to tremble. There are very few chances that the leader from the UDF on the Côte d’Azur won’t be at the starting line of the next municipal elections, and François Bayrou’s result in the upcoming presidential elections might even give another dimension to this candidacy. In 2001, Rudy Salles did not participate in the municipal election to the benefit of Jacques Peyrat, who represented the right-wing union.
Certainly, Nice is a “right-wing” city, but the result of the second round in 2001, which had Jacques Peyrat winning against socialist Patrick Mottard, was by the narrowest margin in Nice’s history (49,440 votes against 45,916). This makes Patrick Mottard a potential candidate for the Socialist Party or even the Nice left, especially since the leader of Nice Plurielle has remained at the helm of the municipal opposition group. But that was without considering the candidacy of Patrick Allemand, Vice President of the PACA Region, which has long been no secret among the ranks of the azure Socialist Party. One seat for two? Not certain, as the idea of an electoral duel might inspire other PS leaders or local left-wing parties. On the PS side, Paul Cuturello and Jean-François Knecht are strong outsiders, while Joseph Ciccolini, who led a Divers Gauche list in the previous election, obtaining a respectable 4.79%, and Jean-Christophe Picard, candidate for the Radical Left Party, both represent electoral heavyweights that the two favorites can hardly do without in the first or second round.
Certainly, the presidential and legislative elections might change the landscape to some extent, but the main lines have been drawn for months now, and everyone is preparing in their corner with strong declarations, blogs, or presence in local media. The sacred union both on the right and left will be the mantra for the various municipal candidates who will have to work hard to “build” a list composed of individuals, characters, or personalities who define the city of Nice.
