The new Prefect of Alpes-Maritimes, Georges-François Leclerc, assumed his duties by visiting the War Memorial at Rauba Capeu under pouring rain. This gesture was outside the official celebrations, but not insignificant: Nice is still in a year of mourning following the July 14th attack.
The elected officials, foremost among them Christian Estrosi who was hosting, along with other representatives from associations and civil society, were present for this first act of Adolphe Colrat’s successor.
In his speech at the Prefectural Palace, Prefect Leclerc sought to be modest: “Who am I? What am I like? What do I want to do? The almost academic elements of a prefect’s arrival address, the questions every prefect is accustomed to answering when they arrive… I will not answer them, because I like to be judged by my actions and not by proclamations,” he declared before an attentive audience.
He limited himself to offering a formal salute to his predecessor and expressing “his desire to discover all the dimensions of this department, which, along with the elected officials, I will endeavor to embody the unity of: the mountains, the coastline, Nice, Antibes, Grasse, Cannes, Menton, the businesses, industries, agricultural world, religious institutions, all the elements of this fascinating department and all the elements that constitute its genius.”
These beautiful ecumenical words include the conclusion: “I like to define myself as a humble man, but as a proud prefect.”
A simple expression or a subliminal message?
