Rudy Salles, UDF Deputy, and Jean-Louis Vidal Revel, Departmental Delegate of the UDF, discuss the recent turmoil that has shaken the Nice City Council.
According to the Deputy from Nice, “the people implicated in the various cases we know of are close associates of the Mayor” and thus “the resignation of the municipal officials is imperative. It’s even the only honorable course of action.” Jean-Louis Vidal Revel’s stance is no different: “There can be no irresponsible captain in the municipal ship.”
Following Patrick Mottard, who has appealed to the Minister of the Interior and the Prefect to dissolve the current city council, it is now the turn of Nice’s UDF to firmly make their stance known after this latest Riviera scandal, which further tarnishes an already heavily damaged image of a coast more worn than azure.
Nice Première: A new affair seems to be looming at the Nice City Council. What is your opinion on this matter?
Rudy Salles: I am not a prosecutor. But as a citizen of Nice, I am tired of watching this municipal situation deteriorate before our eyes. This is all the more serious because the people implicated in the various known cases are close associates of the Mayor.
Jean-Louis Vidal Revel: Each day brings its share of diverse information that upsets and disgusts the citizens. How can we demand civic responsibility and respect for others when such examples are set before us. There can be no irresponsible captain in the municipal ship. Supposed ignorance is not conceivable.
Trust has been absent for a long time.
NP: Do you think there are solutions to “secure” a City Hall against corruption?
RS: One should surround oneself with honest men and women. This is possible, as is the case in most city halls in France and the Alpes Maritimes Department.
JLVR: The first solution would be to make voters understand that they only get the officials they deserve. They must mobilize, inform themselves, and go out to vote. They should only endorse officials who have demonstrated consistent ideas and have shown that their projects can be achieved without uncontrolled spending (everyone has seen that we pay three times or more for the same hole, the same tramway trench. What does the master builder say?). It is always tempting to rely on these management blurs to be tempted by “reprehensible compensations.”
A second solution would be more of a principle: never trust someone who has proven to be unreliable in the past. This was the case for the previous head of City Services, whose notorious reputation could not have been unknown to his employer.
A community can never be perfectly secured at this level, but the role of the “Chief” is crucial. He must never delegate the tasks of responsibility that are his own. The example must come from the top; the “Chief” must learn from his team’s failure; if his “company” were publicly traded, there’s no doubt the shareholders would know what to do.
NP: Local officials are asking for the dissolution of the municipal majority. And you, what would you request?
RS: The resignation of the municipal officials is imperative. It’s even the only honorable way. The Mayor should ask his team to resign in order to trigger an early municipal election and thus restore legitimacy to the officials. Nothing would prevent the current Mayor from running again, if he wished. But when you’re an elected official, you should not be afraid of the universal suffrage. That’s the only remedy I know of in such a serious crisis.
JLVR: Only one question and your answer as a minority shareholder would determine for itself the conclusion: “Can this last another two years as it is?”
NP: A local political leader attacks the “contractors” who, according to him, would be at the origin of the latest misappropriations at the Nice city hall. Could a mandatory entrance exam be one of the solutions, do you think?
RS: In a city hall, there have always been civil servants and contractors. The recruitment of contractors by the Mayor should be based on competence, trust, and honesty. It seems that these criteria were not selected by the Mayor of Nice.
JLVR: Whoever hires, the ‘Chief’, should first be able to ‘read a CV’. When a political party, whatever it may be, imposes a protégé (most often, in reward for services rendered or simply to get rid of them), one can be assured of future difficulties. We have experienced it.
Whoever hires, the ‘Chief’, should not always agree with the last person who spoke. A ‘Chief’, lacking discernment, is not or is no longer a ‘Chief’, and especially, he can no longer turn a blind eye: he is the responsible one.
NP: Major Stadium, Tramway, Hospitality… How to make the tender procedure for major projects more transparent?
RS: Where there is power, there should always be a counter-power, i.e., a representation of the opposition. This is the case in the tender committee. Moreover, it is this presence that allowed to expose the affairs of the stadium and the tram. Regarding the Sulzer affair, we must wait to see what really happened to comment. But obviously, I believe the Mayor lets his close entourage evolve as they please, without any control. I would like to add that I have tabled a bill to impose participation of the opposition in community agglomerations. Indeed, the CANCA manages colossal budgets, without any political control. We might one day have surprises at that level also.
JLVR: On paper, safeguards exist, yet they must be respected. Again, it is the responsibility of the ‘Chief’, or let’s say ‘The Mayor’, if you prefer. How could a mayor be condemned for the collapse of a goal on a football field he does not know and at the same time, could he let believe that he is unaware of what is going on under his eyes?
Answering questions about the Grand Stadium and its negotiations, the Tramway and its poor choices, and the future of the ‘parking’ Sulzer for the establishment of a hotel group would require a new and real debate. Proposals were made at the time by the UDF: they have remained dead letters. The city administration assumes the consequences. It’s not about being, like some, always systematically ‘opponents’ and submissive to an ideology, but it’s about taking into account the general interest and managing the City while keeping ‘family father’ principles, as was the case in the past. There are still elected officials and candidates who believe in this.
NP: Finally, what are the next steps you imagine for this new case in Nice?
RS: Once again, the City of Nice is being pointed at. With it, it’s the Niçois civil servants, the inhabitants of our city, the officials who bear the brunt, while these affairs are the deeds of a few “well-placed” individuals! We need to cut off all these sick branches, but I believe the Mayor does not have the capability. He had promised to “scrape the wound to the bone.” We’ve reached the marrow and it’s getting worse. We cannot trust him to eradicate the diversions around him. We need to change the team and methods as soon as possible.
JLVR: Hmm! I answered your third question with a question, have you answered it?
