Montpellier (AFP)

The entrepreneur and president of the Montpellier rugby club Mohed Altrad announced Monday his candidacy in the municipal elections of Montpellier.

"I will take the best of the left and the right," said the Franco-Syrian entrepreneur, Occitanie's biggest fortune according to Challenges with 3.3 billion euros and president of Montpellier Hérault Rugby, which plays in the Top 14.

"I do not want to have a divided city, where some people meditate on others, where decisions are made based on personal ties, and with me it will be simple, I will choose the most competent ones," he said. alongside Senator LR Jean-Pierre Grand and Regional Councilor and Co-Chair of Radical Left Virginie Rozière.

He relies on the support of a LREM MP, Coralie Dubost: "I find Mohed Altrad's approach and his profile very interesting for Montpellier, which needs freshness and seriousness at the same time," she said. AFP. "It's been too long since the cards were not rebuffed in my opinion."

"We are open to further discussions, except with the extremes," said Mohed Altrad, head of a major international group in Montpellier, which bears his name, specializing in services to industries and which has achieved 3 , 4 billion euros of turnover in 2018.

It intends to highlight in its program "the economy and employment (...), in connection with the social", the environment, mobility and well-being together.

Born in the Syrian desert about 70 years ago (he explains not knowing his date of birth because there was no civil status in the Bedouin tribes where he was born), Mr. Altrad arrived in Montpellier to around age 17, with a scholarship. He has no political experience, and only recently registered on the electoral lists.

His candidacy is part of an electoral landscape still vague for the municipal in Montpellier, especially on the side of the presidential majority.

The left mayor Philippe Saurel, who had supported the candidate Macron in 2017 and the LREM list to the European, will probably be a candidate for re-election. The deputy LREM Hérault Patrick Vignal said in June his candidacy for the investiture of the party.

Contacted by AFP, Philippe Saurel did not wish to comment on the candidacy of Mohed Altrad.

© 2019 AFP