Two days apart, Dr. Jean-Luc Morlino and the outgoing Mayor, Deputy Substitute for Jean-Claude Guibal for the constituency, Gérard Grosgogeat officially expressed their desire to run in the municipal elections in Villefranche-sur-Mer. On Saturday, December 1st, Victory Street in the center of historic Villefranche was blocked to allow the inauguration of the outgoing mayor’s campaign headquarters. This was a more or less distant approach to an American-style campaign for the candidate: arriving with music—and late—alongside Deputy Jean-Claude Guibal, under the applause suggested by a master of ceremonies listing the elected officials from neighboring municipalities and SIVOM partners: René Vestri, Mayor of St Jean Cap-Ferrat and Vice-President of the General Council, René Roux, Mayor of Beaulieu and André Barthes for the city of Nice. In a brief speech, Gérard Grosgogeat made a point to present “his new team” without revealing the names of his running mates. A list “98% complete,” according to Jean-Christophe Storaï, his chief of staff, but still “subject to some minor adjustments, especially in favor of women.” With the specially created Association “Villefranche for All,” the outgoing mayor knows there are still “things to improve” but counts on the “young people of his team” to achieve this. He specifically asks “these young people to raise their hands,” but the audience notes that these young people, apart from perhaps Cédric Cérasa, a newcomer to the list after a stint at the Nice Town Hall, aren’t really young. “Only old people,” quietly comments a woman in the audience.
No matter. Gérard Grosgogeat is clearly banking as much on the “passion that drives him for his city” as on the declared support of the President of the General Council Christian Estrosi and Eric Ciotti. Taking the floor in turn, Deputy Jean-Claude Guibal seeks to describe the outgoing candidate as a “generous man, full of vigor and, moreover, honest… in the 18th-century sense” before broadening his remarks to “the importance, in representative democracies, of trusting local elected officials, always within slapping distance.” It’s tricky for the Deputy-Mayor of Menton to avoid contradicting himself between calling on Villefranchois to “reinstate a team they trust” while congratulating on the “renewal and openness” of this team. But it is undoubtedly René Vestri who holds the most eminently political language: “opening an office,” confides he in the tone of a seasoned sage, “is like conducting a first survey, allowing you to spot those who like you,” he specifies with a delightful ambiguity “having hesitated somewhat before coming!” Indeed, 250 to 300 people had responded positively out of the approximately 4000 invitations sent, which is the total number of registered voters. René Vestri does not fail to recall, in a kind of message to “the ultimate recipient,” the importance of the financial contribution of the General Council—100,000 euros—for the refurbishment of the stadium, allowing him *ipso facto* to “act as the spokesperson” for his President Christian Estrosi to “greet all the attendees and elected officials on his behalf.” He also enumerates the existence of 240 days out of 365 of activities in the city, a figure that leaves several attendees skeptical. As is appropriate, the conclusion is left to the Mayor, who wraps up with a play on words: “Victory Street to win but Peace Square to go greet everyone who hasn’t voted for us!”
Asked about the new team’s concrete projects, a somewhat embarrassed deputy talks about “security with the installation of an advanced police post for Upper Villefranche” and the “probable creation of a 200-space parking lot between the old town and Octroi,” without mysteriously being able to say more. Another elected official comes to his aid: “We will announce our projects at the last moment, so as to deprive our opponents of arguments or to prevent them from stealing them.” The group rejoices in the arrival of the Chief of Staff, who is much more comfortable, technically and politically, in answering questions: “regarding pollution,” he explains, “1000 households are already connected, and the entire city will be by 2010.” Another certainty: “the public building of Sacré-Cœur is not for sale,” and “no change to the POS will occur” contrary to rumors of possible real estate speculations that might transform Verdun Street and involve the construction company Eiffage. Understood.
Around a convivial drink offered by the campaigning team, Villefranchois indulge in some comments: “the priority,” says one of them, “is the parking problem and that of the cruise passengers who just pass through without stopping in the city and need to be managed.” Another insists on “tourism, the heart of our activity, which makes the pollution issue, and wastewater discharge intolerable,” as well as “the absence of small shops, forcing residents to do their shopping in neighboring towns or surrounding supermarkets.” “Villefranche,” he further specifies, “risks becoming an economically dead city.” A group gathered around pissaladières is much more critical: “it’s a shame that after three terms, which isn’t self-evident for representative democracy, the mayor cannot present a successor.” And to continue: “in this somewhat patriarchal atmosphere, the question arises of how priorities are voted on and how the leader passes the torch, otherwise it’s not a leader but a dictator.”
The direct competitor of the outgoing mayor, Dr. Jean-Luc Morlino does not go that far. But he readily criticizes Gérard Grosgogeat for his “abuse of authority” and “lack of dialogue.” He also regrets the “politicization of the campaign of the outgoing team,” which is, according to him, to the “detriment of the local interest of Villefranchois.” More at ease in the privacy of his medical office to discuss these topics, the main right-wing opponent recognizes that it is “difficult to be in opposition in Villefranche-sur-Mer” as “pressures are exerted on the residents and merchants,” especially to “dissuade them from making their premises an electoral headquarters.” Jean-Luc Morlino does not want to needlessly argue about the “Grosgogeat system.” He prefers to focus on concrete topics: “the waste of Barmassa” with unfulfilled “housing promises,” the “problem of depolluting the gas site,” and “neglecting the preemption for Villa César at Octroi, which could have housed a dozen families and positioned the Municipal Police strategically.” These are, according to him, signs of “the irresponsibility of the municipal majority.” Files to be “started from scratch” and will be “at the heart of his campaign,” even if other proposals—”revitalizing the citadel and offering the town hall administrations more modern buildings” and “obviously the parking issue”—will emerge at the end of the year, simultaneously with the announcement of his team, which he predicts could reveal the surprise of some “heavy hitters.”
It is understood, Gérard Grosgogeat and Jean-Luc Morlino should, barring the unexpected, meet again in the second round of these electoral deadlines which will decide the future face of Villefranche-sur-Mer. So stay tuned for this duel… which is only in its early stages.
photos: Mr. K. Liebmann
