Nice Premium: Philippe Vardon, you have just been charged with reconstituting a dissolved league. What was your reaction to this indictment?
Philippe Vardon: First of all, it is not a sentence but an indictment. That is to say, I have not been judged and am therefore, as hard as it may seem for our opponents to imagine, presumed INNOCENT. I cannot imagine for a second being convicted for such a fanciful reason. If that were to happen, I believe I would then have nothing left to do but seek political asylum in a more democratic country than France. Maybe Cuba or North Korea… Some friends also recommend Punta del Este in Uruguay, a refuge for Nissarts pursued by the “republican” justice.
To be more serious, I am obviously angry. For years, Prosecutor De Montgolfier has been targeting me, he even told a relative last year that the “Vardon case should have been settled a long time ago.” With my candidacy announcement in the 1st district for the legislative elections, things have only accelerated. Judge for yourself: in three months of campaigning, I have been indicted three times! And always only for eminently political reasons: twice for flyers and now under this delirious pretext of “reconstitution.” These real judicial persecutions have only one actual goal: to spoil our campaign by prolonging the procedures as long as possible to always cast doubt…
There is a text to which many people refer while forgetting one of the essential principles, it is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It stipulates in Article 19: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression, which implies the right not to be harassed for their opinions.”
NP: Don’t you think that your actions (pork soup, identity meetings) and your positions are fundamentally rooted in the far right?
PV: Are you serious? Distributing bowls of hot soup to about forty homeless people each week is an action “rooted in the far right”? Holding a symposium on the rebellious spirit of the Nissarts, localism, the principle of subsidiarity, the Europe of peoples, or federalism, like the one we organized last Saturday, “rooted in the far right”? Our positions are what they are, and we are not ashamed of any of them. They are guided by two immutable principles: the observation of a reality experienced daily by our compatriots and a deep love for our land, our people, and our history.
NP: Nissa Rebella posters are blooming all over the city walls, especially near educational institutions. What do you do about the prohibition of posting on public property?
PV: We always post where the law allows or tolerates it. I can understand why our opponents, whose militant and human desertion is distressing (21 organizations, including the Socialist Party and the Communist Party, gathered 100 people for their “anti-identity” demonstration last Saturday while we recorded 150 entries at our meeting), might be vexed by this arrogant presence in the field we display (pun intended!). I can only advise them to spend less time in their offices or lounges and go post… Going out a bit in the city might also allow them to realize its reality.
NP: Why have you chosen to take icons of Nice life (Ségurane, Garibaldi) as emblems of your movement when no other local party is doing so?
PV: Simply because we are the ONLY LOCAL party! Where other candidates or parties seek their orders and references in Paris, we clearly assert our attachment to the rebellious spirit of the Niçois and declare just as clearly that we are its heirs. Nissa Rebela is a local and independent political force, aware of national and continental issues, but defending first and foremost the Niçois Country and its inhabitants. We are following in the footsteps of the rebellious Nissarts from Catarina to Jacquou, through the Barbets or why not Albert Spaggiari. It is hard to imagine candidates who owe their nomination only to their subservient behavior towards Parisian parties (and this is true for ALL) daring to claim any relationship with the heroes of our land.
NP: You are a candidate for the legislative elections, will you also be a candidate in the municipal elections?
PV: Yes! Our ideas are represented by no one, so we will defend them ourselves!
NP: To run elections concurrently, one needs budgets. How is your movement funded?
PV: By the contributions and donations of our members, supporters, and friends. Indeed for us, no subsidies, no guardianship from a “big party.” That’s the price of our freedom.
NP: Finally, how would you describe your movement in a few words?
PV: Niçois. Alternative. Popular. Rooted. Faithful.
If I may conclude with a few words, in response to the remarks made on your site by Jean-François Knecht. The Socialist councilor spoke of courage and honor as universal virtues. Since everyone is endowed with them, I therefore imagine that he must not lack them. I, for my part, have never refused any fight. Whether in a ring, on the street, in a courtroom, or in the political arena… I consider that Mr. Knecht’s and his agitating friends’ comments, gathered last Saturday, have damaged my honor, that of my family, and that of my fellow fighters. Since Jean-François Knecht claims to understand what honor is, and to know courage, I invite him, whenever he wishes, to meet me in a public debate. And why not a debate organized or hosted by Nice-Première?
