The resignation of the mayor of Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, Yannick Morez (DVD), victim of an arson attack and under pressure from the far right, arouses a flood of reactions of solidarity from associations of elected officials, who demand State support commensurate with the violence suffered.
Elisabeth Borne promises to “better protect” elected officials after the resignation of the mayor of Saint-Brevin-les-Pins
The announcement Wednesday, May 10 in the evening of the departure of Yannick Morez comes after the fire of his vehicles and the facade of his house at the end of March, in connection with a transfer project, near a school, a center of reception of asylum seekers (Cada) already present since 2016 in this Loire-Atlantique town of 14,400 inhabitants.
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The project had provoked the opposition of a small group of residents, joined during demonstrations by far-right parties and small groups.
The AMF denounces the “scandalous resignation of the State”
On Wednesday, the mayor, who questions the “lack of state support”announced his resignation after fifteen years of municipal council and his move from the city where this general practitioner by profession has lived for 32 years.
Denouncing this Thursday, May 11 “an umpteenth manifestation of the violence that elected officials must increasingly face”the Association of Mayors of France (AMF) urgently called for answers “up to the challenge”. Its president David Lisnard (LR) wished a “precise study” of the phenomenon of attacks on elected officials.
“It is shameful that a mayor is in this situation”reacted for his part André Laignel (PS), first vice-president of the AMF, criticizing the “scandalous resignation from the State which was not at the side of Mr. Morez”while it is the State that decides where to set up Cadas.
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The AMF, which represents almost all local elected officials, has been challenging the government for months on the attacks, a triggering factor for resignations which, according to it, are exploding at a level ” never seen “. According to official figures, acts of physical or verbal violence against elected officials increased by 32% in 2022 and 1,293 mayors have resigned since 2020.
“We have been warning about far-right groups for months”
Saint-Brevin is not an isolated case. Far-right demonstrations and threats to elected officials have got the better of the refugee reception project in Callac, in Central Brittany. In Belâbre, in Indre, a 38-seat Cada installation project also sparked an outpouring of hatred.
“The far right played on conspiracy, and it worked”: return to Callac after the abandonment of a refugee reception project
“We have been alerting for months to the far-right groups that are reigning intellectual and sometimes physical terrorism on elected officials”underlines André Laignel, elected representative of Indre.
Faced with the outcry, the Minister Delegate for Local Authorities Dominique Faure indicated that she would reveal next week “new means to prevent and fight against attacks on elected officials”. She had already announced in mid-March the creation of a “analysis and fight cell” against attacks on elected officials. A measure still not followed by effects, according to the AMF.
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“There is no more restraint”
A law promulgated in January also allows all associations of elected officials to become civil parties, while the Keeper of the Seals sent a circular to the public prosecutor’s offices in February to specify the procedures for judicial treatment.
“Reality shows that nothing is getting better despite these advances”judge Christophe Bouillon, president of the Association of small towns (APVF). “There is no more restraint. From the outset, we come to an intolerable physical violence, a degradation of the property of elected officials, a threat to families “he assures.
“We are facing a torrent of insults and false rumors that can circulate on social networks”also notes Gil Avérous, president of Villes de France.
