Buildings collapsed in Marseille. The mea culpa by Jean-Claude Gaudin

Marked by the tragedy of the rue d'Aubagne, which has killed eight, the mayor The Republicans of the Marseille city does not however intend to resign.

"We have not done enough" : the voice is still strong, almost authoritarian, but tiredness and tension seemed to mark Sunday Jean-Claude Gaudin, 79 years.

Sign of the severity of the crisis crossed, after the collapse of three buildings, rue d'Aubagne, the mayor of Marseille has multiplied media interventions during the week, defending its policy of fighting against unworthy and unhealthy housing, assuring that they have done everything and asking the state to change the regulations until this beginning of mea culpa.

Always quick to castigate the "Marseille bashing" when his city made headlines for the wrong reasons, the elected LR has bent his speech in the wake of a white march that brought together 8,000 Marseillais in tribute to the victims of the disaster of November 5th. The parade had ended in anger, under the windows of the Hotel de Ville, with shouts of "Gaudin assassin! Gaudin resignation! "The day after the discovery of an eighth body under the rubble.

"I'm not doing everything right"

"We are all collapsed by what happened (...) I'm not doing everything well, I'm sure, but I'm here and I stay there" : no question of resigning, he again assaulted Sunday, assuring that he did not take part in the march by "fear of provoking tensions" .

Tribute to the victims of the drama of the rue d'Aubagne pic.twitter.com/gx5UjgXKA6

Cruel irony: the march was also marked by the partial collapse of a balcony, which made three light injuries, a few meters from the course of the event, as a symbol of criticism that hit the municipality, which was owner of one of the two buildings that collapsed on November 5.

"He goes out under whistles and boos, that's all he feared," blows a local elected Republicans. "It's terrible what happens, it will end like Henri Tasso (former mayor of Marseille) , who was dismissed after the fire of the New galleries," he predicts. In 1938, after the death of 73 people on the Canebière, Marseille was then placed under the supervision of the State.

Gaudin will leave "a dirty city, abandoned"

"What leaves Gaudin behind him? " Continues this elected. "A dirty city, abandoned. It is a complete incompetence that he managed to hide thanks to his exceptional personality. It's very bad for our political family . "

On the right, candidates for the succession of Jean-Claude Gaudin have remained rather discreet since the disaster, whether Senator Bruno Gilles or the patroness of the department and metropolis Aix-Marseille-Provence Martine Vassal.

And in opposition, among some residents and in the community, without necessarily going so far as to suggest to the mayor to resign, as did the MP LREM Saïd Ahamada, the critics liked the mayor and his team.

A series of crises

The crisis comes after several others that have already marked the Marseilles: controversy over the state of Marseille schools, the renovation of the Place Jean-Jaurès, the largest in the city or the proliferation of shopping centers in the city, for example .

The town hall and Jean-Claude Gaudin, are also at the heart of a vast survey of national finance floor around the working time of municipal employees. Last July, the mayor was even heard for 7 hours by the investigators.

Will he have to face justice again for rue d'Aubagne? "If one day it turns out that the city is responsible for something, obviously it may concern me but for now (...) we have no fault to blame us , " he says.