Patrick Mottard and his group Gauche Autrement’s rallying to the PS has weakened the PRG in both numbers and visibility, at least in Nice. In light of this, its Departmental President, Jean-Christophe Picard, has decided to pursue a different option by choosing the one offered by Marc Concas, a PS dissident, which likely serves as a bridge toward Olivier Bettati and Benoît Kandel for creating a unity list as anti-Estrosi as it is anti-Allemand.
The continuation of these operations will reveal whether the choices made are based on logic or are merely impulsive and allergic reactions. For, while Christian Estrosi, as the outgoing mayor, will certainly be a primary target of this possible duo, Patrick Allemand finds himself with a thorn in each foot. Indeed, the relations between the PRG06’s president and the leader of the Nice Socialist Party have not been exemplary for a few years, and he has been joined, for some months now, by the councilor of the 1st district who now shares the same sentiments about his former “comrade.”
Jean-Christophe Picard seems confident in his decision: “In the absence of an open primary, I will participate in an open list. If there’s someone who has fought to unite the left, it’s me!”
Declaration of candidacy of Jean-Christophe Picard:
During the 2010 regional elections, under my leadership, PRG 06 chose to join Michel Vauzelle right from the first round. As a thank you, the three radical left candidates were purely and simply kicked off his list just before the second round, without explanation, after two months of relentless campaigning. I was myself replaced by a socialist from the Var who, though elected with votes from the Azurites, has yet to set foot in our department.
For the 2011 cantonals and the 2012 legislative elections, I proposed, in vain, an electoral agreement with the PS.
Obviously, the first secretary of the PS 06 prefers other more “virile” methods… Thus, in January 2011, he didn’t hesitate to hold a press conference to threaten PRG 06. In May 2012, he organized another press conference to insult and slander my party. The wrong of the radical left in the eyes of this great democrat? Wanting to field candidates in elections!
During an interview published in December 2012, Patrick Allemand once again attacked PRG 06, reducing it to a “phone booth.”
As I have always insisted, you cannot build the unity of the left, an essential condition for any victory, by being sectarian and contemptuous.
The verdict of the ballot boxes is severe: since 2008, the left in Nice has lost three municipal councilors and three general councilors. Worse, it didn’t secure any deputy during the pink wave of June 2012!
That’s why I was the first to call for an open primary to designate a common list leader in Nice. And I wasn’t the only one who thought it was the only way to rally the left. But, at Patrick Allemand’s request, this option was not even considered by the PS authorities!
The result of this blindness is undeniable: his candidacy has once again, as in 2008, caused his own party to implode. Among the new wave of disillusioned activists who have left Nice’s PS, the resignation of a municipal councilor and the only socialist general councilor in Nice demonstrates the extent of the disaster.
It’s clear: Patrick Allemand has, as usual, deprived the left of any chance to go united.
Therefore, those who sincerely wish to put an end to Christian Estrosi’s reign must consider another type of gathering…
In this context, the call launched by Marc Concas particularly caught my attention. In the absence of an open primary, I decided to participate, alongside him, in an open list accessible to all Republicans of good will.
