Since the residents of 42 Trachel Street opposed the municipal project, supported by the opposition who didn’t miss the chance to create problems for Christian Estrosi, and with the backing of approximately 2000 people who signed a petition, each party has been advancing its pieces hoping to force the other into making a mistake.
The municipality is hiding behind the result of the public inquiry, which is not yet known. The protesters, on the other hand, have formed a committee and received the help of the Anticor 06 association, which directly went on the offensive by choosing strong methods: resorting to judicial authority.
“The case” has caught the attention of both local and national press*.
Justice will respond in time and place, but two comments are necessary:
First: That Mrs. and Mr. Benchimol own real estate properties in this area, it is their right. If this had been made public during the decision-making process, it would prevent giving it the appearance of a secret they want to hide for other purposes. Transparency when you are a public subject is in the interest of all and should be a rule everyone applies to themselves.
Second: Mr. Benchimol claimed ignorance of the votes passed by proxies in his absence. How can he expect to be believed? Does he receive and read the documents concerning the agenda? Where does he live… on the moon?
While waiting for the situation to evolve, one thing is certain: this file is not ready to be closed.
Jean-Christophe Picard, representative of the Anticor 06 association, has filed a complaint against Daniel Benchimol, deputy mayor, for “illegal taking of interest.”
“While studying this file, I noticed that the future green space would be located in front of the windows of properties belonging to Mr. Daniel Benchimol and his wife. These apartments will not be demolished and they will undeniably increase in value.”
“It’s a completely fanciful complaint that rests on nothing,” retorts Daniel Benchimol before announcing that he has asked his counsel “to pursue Mr. Picard from today for slanderous denunciation.”
For the record:
On September 21, 2012, the Nice Côte d’Azur metropolitan area launched an urban renewal project dubbed “absurd” by the press [1]. Indeed, the operation involves demolishing buildings to construct a square… and demolishing a square to construct buildings!
In this context, the affected residents, particularly those living at 42 bis Trachel Street, have expressed their legitimate discontent. In response, Christian Estrosi, the president of the metropolis, kindly referred to them as “grumpy Smurfs.”
In any case, if there’s one resident who isn’t complaining, it’s Daniel Benchimol! Indeed, the deputy mayor of Nice and his wife own several properties (27 apartments) at 24 Dabray Street. By a fortunate coincidence, these two “lucky Smurfs” are spared by the project. Better yet: their numerous apartments will significantly increase in value since the buildings located just opposite will be demolished to make room for the new square…
The only small problem is that Daniel Benchimol, in his capacity as a metropolitan councilor of Nice Côte d’Azur, participated in the adoption of the three resolutions that led to this operation since he delegated authority to Mr. Lauriano Azinheirinha.
However, “the action […] by a person invested with a public elective mandate of taking […] directly or indirectly, any interest […] in an operation for which she is […] responsible for overseeing […] is punishable by five years of imprisonment and a €75,000 fine” [2]. And jurisprudence has taken care to specify that the offense is constituted even if the interested elected official “grants power of attorney to another elected official to participate in the deliberation” [3].
It is based on these considerations that Anticor 06 filed a complaint.
[1] Cf. “Christian Estrosi and the Grumpy Smurfs,” L’Humanité, February 23, 2013.
[2] “The action, by a person holding public authority or responsible for a public service mission or by a person invested with a public elective mandate, of taking, receiving or keeping, directly or indirectly, any interest in an enterprise or in an operation of which she is, at the time of the act, wholly or partly, responsible for overseeing, administering, liquidating or paying, is punishable by five years of imprisonment and a €75,000 fine” (Article 432-12 of the penal code).
[3] “Whereas, to declare François X… guilty of illegal taking of interest, the court of appeal notes, in particular, that the concerned person, territorial councilor of Corsica, gave power of attorney to another elected official to participate in the deliberation of May 16, 1994; Whereas in the light of these sole motives, the court of appeal justified its decision;” (Court of Cassation, criminal chamber of April 10, 2002, Mosconi, No. 01-84.286).
