After hours of negotiations, Michèle Rubirola elected mayor of Marseille

We had to wait several hours before knowing the name of the new mayor of Marseille. Michèle Rubirola, leader of the union of the left and the environmentalists of the Printemps Marseille, was finally elected by the municipal council after hard negotiations. She won 51 votes to 41 for Republican MP Guy Teissier.

In the first ballot of the first municipal council to designate the successor to Jean-Claude Gaudin, Michèle Rubirola filled her voices with 42 ballots, as did Guy Teissier, 41. Forty-nine elected, the former ex-PS senator in the northern districts Samia Ghali, on the other hand, only drew up eight ballots. A blank vote was counted.

With the resounding departure of the nine elected representatives of the National Rally, whose leader Stéphane Ravier did not ultimately enter the fray, only 92 elected out of 101 therefore remained in the hemicycle, an absolute majority necessary of 46 votes, taking into account the blank bulletin. This cap having not been reached by any candidate, a second ballot had to be organized, always by an absolute majority of the votes cast.

Also read: "False powers of attorney, touts, intimidation: in Marseille, an election that turns into a thriller"

Samia Ghali's withdrawal

But by mid-day, this second vote had still not taken place: the first ballot was followed by an interruption of the session, requested by Samia Ghali and the Printemps marseillais, which lasted more than two and a half hours and during which negotiations were taking place behind the scenes.

For this new round, it is Samia Ghali who held the keys to the vote. The senator finally decided to withdraw her candidacy in favor of Michèle Rubirola. "I decided not to run and support Michèle Rubirola," she said when the session resumed.

"I decided to support Michèle Rubirola" says Samia Ghali at the resumption of the municipal council of #Marseille to elect the mayor of the city pic.twitter.com/MG4XzzwUry

With AFP

The France 24 week summary invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

Take international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 app