REPORTAGE
The Mayor of Levallois-Perret can always count on the support of his constituents. Chief of the city council for 18 years, he had already been re-elected after his conviction in 1996. This time, the prosecutor's office required four years in prison with a warrant against Patrick Balkany, and two years against his wife. And while the justice is preparing this Friday to give its judgment on the "tax evasion" aspect of the resounding trial of the Balkany couple held in the spring, there is no question for the inhabitants of the city to let go aedile.
"These are personal problems, he has always done everything for the city!" Exclaims Ghislaine, 68, at the microphone of Europe 1. "Our children were supported for the sport and for the centers of leisure There is a nice pool to which I can go three times a week ... Life is very pleasant in Levallois. " For Michel, Patrick Balkany is a man close to the inhabitants and especially very friendly. He does not imagine a second behind bars. "Let him be financially punished, but let him go to prison ... It would be horrible to punish him in this way, and his wife, too," he said with indignation.
"Thank you, Mr. Balkany"
Rather than discuss the outcome of the Balkany trial, residents of Levallois prefer to brag about the balance of the couple. "Compared to 50 years ago, this city is day and night," says a retiree. He is grateful to the mayor for benefiting from an administration that he considers effective and attentive. "We have a lot of sports, cultural activities ... It's a town where we are privileged, so thank you, Mr. Balkany!"
Racket of tennis on the shoulder, a resident summarizes "what everyone in Levallois thinks in a whisper": "Balkany is a scum, but he is a very good mayor."