Paris (AFP)
Gerald Darmanin, Minister of Public Accounts, confirmed Tuesday that he would be a candidate for the municipal election in the city of Tourcoing, but without specifying what place he would take on the list.
"I will be a candidate in the municipal elections in Tourcoing, after I do not know ... there are 53 names on the list ... We'll see when we'll see, that is to say in January or February next, we are in no hurry, "Darmanin said on Radio Classique, recalling his attachment to this northern town where he was mayor and first deputy since his entry into the government.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe clarified last week the rules for the members of his government in anticipation of these municipal elections of March 2020: the ministers can be candidates staying in the government but can not cumulate with a post of mayor or president of local executive if they are elected.
"When one is a minister one can not cumulate with the head of a local executive, so it will be up to them to say if they want to remain members of the government" or to take that office if they are elected, he said. at the end of a governmental seminar.
A minister may, however, accumulate his position in government and a local function other than a leader, according to a government source, such as deputy mayor, vice-president of region or city councilor.
The non-cumulation of a minister's office with that of mayor or president of a local executive is not a legal obligation but it constitutes a doctrine for Emmanuel Macron since the beginning of his five-year term.
© 2019 AFP