Nice Premium: Why didn’t your party form an alliance with Europe Ecologie for the regional elections?
Patrice Miran: We are independent, while Europe Ecologie is tied to the Socialist Party (PS). Unlike Europe Ecologie, in the second round we can form an alliance with either the PS or the UMP, or, as in 2004, with no one at all. Furthermore, we are all long-term environmental activists, elected officials on the ground, and associative activists, and therefore, very resistant to parachutes like that of Mrs. Vichnievsky.
Finally, to form an alliance, there needs to be a discussion about the program. However, Europe Ecologie outright refused any prospect of an alliance and even labeled me as an undesirable person.
N P: In your opinion, what are the positive aspects of AEI compared to other represented parties?
P M: The positives of our program is based on a quantified analysis of the region’s situation and precise, operational answers to the problems posed. We are not into incantation or ideology but into a series of very concrete proposals.
The flipside of this ‘technical’ aspect of our program is precisely that it is difficult to turn into slogans or catchphrases that are so sought after by the media and the public.
N P: What are your main commitments?
P M: Our program revolves around eco-conditionality and the development of local energy production. This involves defining specifications for regional tenders that incorporate the concepts of product reuse, a lower ecological footprint, and support for short marketing circuits for our regional productions. We therefore propose to encourage municipalities and inter-municipalities to create their own energy production structures.
The food self-sufficiency of the region’s major cities, currently at 3%, must reach at least 30% by 2020. This cannot be achieved without coupling this agricultural policy with a territorial planning policy that preserves agricultural land around metropolitan areas, with the establishment of “green” belts dedicated to proximity farming.
We should also bet on the development of telecommuting, supporting the reduction of commuter travel around major urban areas by exporting the amount of telecommutable work to low population density areas.
In our region, the hinterland of the Alpes Maritimes, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, and Hautes Alpes constitute an ideal experiment ground. The Region should promote the establishment of businesses in these future tele-activity zones through financial incentives.
On the coastal space, the lack of real appropriation of the maritime public domain once off the shore is the cause of many conflicts between different users (boaters, aquaculture operators, fishermen, etc.). The Region should promote the creation of a marine cadastre that also delineates property rights at sea.
In terms of waste management, the focus should be on reduction at the source. For this, municipalities or inter-communities must play along by substituting the current flat-rate tax with a fee paid by users based on the volume of waste produced. The Region should promote and accompany this process by linking its aid to collection and treatment to advances made by municipal and/or inter-municipal actors in this direction.
In terms of transport, SNCF’s negligence regarding the management of the TER and the absolute priority given to the TGV must be sanctioned. On one hand, we question the choice made by the regional political class in favor of the TGV. On the other hand, we think it’s high time to create a regional mixed syndicate bringing together the regional council and the urban transport organizing authorities to better coordinate all regional transport players and anticipate the opening to competition of regional rail transport, notably by defining the public service obligations that should frame the activity of operators that will intervene in the region after the end of the current Region/SNCF agreement (2016). We also propose to promote public/private partnerships, especially with operators wishing to operate in the region after 2016, to fund local public transport infrastructures.
In health matters, the Regional Health Observatory will be entrusted with health evaluation tasks, vaccination campaigns, and clinical trials will be funded to test non-allopathic medical practices.
For animal protection, substantial aid will be provided to shelters that house abandoned dogs and cats. Any support for shows that degrade the dignity of animals, such as bullfighting, will be prohibited.
Finally, in terms of budget, we want to reduce the region’s debt and ultimately stabilize and reduce the tax pressure that has been continuously increasing for 20 years.
N P: What score do you hope to achieve in the regional elections in the Alpes Maritimes?
P M: The score we hope to achieve is between 5 and 8% for these elections.
