- After the first round of the municipal elections on March 15, there are still six candidates for mayor of Marseille: Michèle Rubirola (Printemps marseillais), Martine Vassal (LR), Stéphane Ravier (RN), Yvon Berland, (LREM), Bruno Gilles ( DvD) and Samia Ghali (DvG).
- Arriving in 3rd position with 19.45% of the votes cast, Stéphane Ravier is an outsider.
- For the head of the RN list, "if the voters who voted Bardella in the Europeans or Marine [Le Pen] in 2017 in the presidential election, if nothing but these mobilize, you have before you the next mayor of Marseille "
Yet seen as a contender for first place during the first round of the municipal elections in Marseille, Stéphane Ravier, the candidate for the National Rally only finally came in third position. He decided to stay in all areas of the city. Elected by a triangular in the 13th and 14th arrondissements in 2014, this year he will face Martine Vassal's candidate in a duel, and will face two lists on the left in the 15th and 16th arrondissements. He is counting on the mobilization of his electorate to reverse the trend.
How do you react to revelations about possible proxy fraud by Martine Vassal's team?
We went from the Vassal team to the Vassal gang. I am not at all surprised by these rogue methods. It is not an isolated act. Yves Moraine, himself a lawyer and a great lesson giver, explains that he did not know the law. It's making fun of the world. I invite the Marseillais to mobilize to clean the Vassal stables. These people who are supposed to protect the image of Marseille do not stop dirtying it.
Were you surprised by your result in the first round, how do you explain it?
I think everyone was surprised, it's not just me. Madame Vassal already saw it. The evening of the first round, she said that she was in the lead, she was only second, while she benefited from all the support, and in particular from the institutions of the metropolis and the department. The candidate with the lowest score was her. Le Printemps marseillais was also very surprised with its first place. Studies have shown that almost 40% of our voters did not move, compared to 10% for the left.
Results of the municipal elections in Marseille
Do you think that despite your third place, and second from Vassal, you achieve a better result than she?
It is a reality, even if we ran a beating campaign all over Marseille. But he was invited in this election an element that the pollsters had not taken into account, because I recall that the polls and observers announced an RN at least second, if not in the lead on the evening of the first round . It was not just me who was doing my propaganda.
You too believe it ...
Yes because your colleagues also believed in it, observed it, a dynamic campaign ... And then there is this coronavirus which has invited itself in the last days. This situation has severely penalized us. We have a much larger reservoir of votes than our adversaries can hope for. The challenge is to convince him to go to the polls.
Are you still targeting the city or have you refocused your strategy on certain sectors, like yours for example?
Neither Ms. Rubirola, nor Ms. Vassal, nor even I can say "I will be the mayor of Marseille". The situation is so fragmented that everything is possible. We are well ahead in the 13th and 14th arrondissements, I do not feel a fierce desire on the left to elect a representative of Martine Vassal.
✍️ I wrote to @CCastaner to ask him to take legal action as responsible for the organization of the elections following the revelations on possible fraud with the proxies for the second round of the municipal elections in #Marseille.
Victory will not be stolen from us! pic.twitter.com/z2UsQ62h0m
A duel which is new for that matter, are you in a less favorable position than in 2014?
It is not a triangular so it could be more difficult for us to face. But the situation means that I am facing the representative of the municipal majority, because Vassal is the heiress of Gaudin, who in addition has become a shopkeeper. She negotiated with Ghali, with the left in general, to obtain their support in 13/14.
What did she negotiate with Ghali?
Ghali withdrew in 13/14 and Vassal withdrew in 15/16. Vassal is awaiting a vote in the third round, because there may be a relative majority on the evening of the second round. I do not have proof, but it is sewn with white thread that Samia Ghali will bring its votes to Vassal and in exchange in September the great voters will bring their voice to the candidate Ghali to the senatorials. I remind you that in 13-14 we are facing the candidate of Mrs. Vassal who has been co-responsible for at least 19 years since she was elected, of the calamitous situation in which the city finds itself. And catastrophic in which are the 13th and 14th arrondissements.
Have you failed to raise the bar in six years?
The locals saw what we did for six years. And many say "Ravier, D'Angio, they repaired my street, they intervened for my kid's school, they created a cleaning brigade, a club for seniors with free outings". This is the reality. Because when you listen to my opponents, it's a stop to Stéphane Ravier. But we still don't know why. The two months of confinement also confirmed that if I had the priority of security, it was the priority of all security. Including sanitary. We did not wait for Macron's agreement to set up a screening laboratory. We were very reactive, concrete, outside of any ideology.
How do you perceive these alliances facing the RN in the northern districts?
Despite this union of staff, I have to oppose our union with the Marseillais of 13/14 for their daily lives. The inhabitants who voted on the left until now must feel betrayed by their staff which withdraws when it could have maintained itself. They will not be represented on the municipal council by elected officials from their sector. And must we vote for Galtier? The representative of that which belongs to the municipal majority having ruined the city, and responsible, at least politically, for the collapse of the rue d'Aubagne, of 25% of the population living below the poverty line. It's not Ravier, it's Vassal. I am not convinced that they will rush into the voting booth to vote Galtier / Vassal. Which leaves me with a part of the electorate of Bruno Gilles, who came up against the attitude, outside the balance sheet, of Vassal during this campaign. I hear "I am more of a leftist, but here I am voting for the action you have taken on a daily basis".
Do you think you have more chances on 13/14 or 15/16 against two lists on the left?
It is true that we do not love each other on the left in 15/16. Everything will depend on two factors, always the same in this sector, as in 11/12 where there is a quadrangular, it is the mobilization of our voters. And the second point, respect for the rules of democracy. Because you have to see it to believe it in some offices, it is grand theft.
How are you going to remobilize?
Already you have to contact them, which is not easy, the campaign is quite curious because you can't get close. The obstacle again, and especially for the elderly, is the virus. They are afraid. So we try to make them understand, and there are still 20 days to go, life begins again.
Do you think 20 days is enough or this second round is too early?
I would have liked it to be postponed. The government has decided, let's go cheerfully. They are told in front of and at the polling stations, everything will be secure. We have proposed to provide additional means, and we explain to voters that on that day there will be everything we need, distancing, masks, gels. And since they go shopping on Saturday, since they go to the bakery all day, there is no reason why they miss this almost historic chance to turn the page on the Gaudin / Vassal / system. Guérini, to make this second round a new first round. The one whose first place was announced possible for the RN.
So the priority is to convince people about the safety of this vote?
Yes, my priority is not even to convince voters who would not vote for us, we continue to do so when we meet them, but I will almost content myself with mobilizing those who voted Bardella in the Europeans or Marine [Le Pen] in 2017 in the presidential election. If nothing but these are mobilized, you have before you the next mayor of Marseille.
Do you think you will be able to turn the situation around at this point for the second round?
I would have a relative majority, but at the time of the choices, well everyone is free. If I have, and I hope so, more votes than Ms. Vassal, and therefore am the only one who can beat Ms. Rubirola in the third round, what will Ms. Vassal do? Will she vote for Mrs. Rubirola? It will take its responsibilities before the Marseillais.
Who is your number 1 opponent today? Vassal or Rubirola?
It is abstention my opponent. My proposals, I believe that these are those that the Marseillais await. Ms. Vassal, she has been in power for 17 years, and the left has known what she is capable of: the worst. So I want to avoid two plagues in Marseille. I don't have to choose between these two people. It is my adversaries who have been in power, for some who are still in power, I am turning to the Marseillais, and I tell them "you want to take it back for six years?" "
If tomorrow you are elected, will you go to the Senate?
Each thing in its time, and even if I am a senator, I remain on the municipal council, I am president of the group. I never missed a city council, I had to miss a single borough council in six years. I am very involved in political and everyday life in Marseille.
You also appreciate the national forum offered by the Senate…
It is not a question of influence, it is a question of efficiency, a question of political opportunity to carry the voice of the Marseillais and the Marseille situation in the Senate. I work with Ms. D'Angio, I am part of her team, in the districts, in Marseille. This is what is closest to my heart, I am from Marseilles. But if I had chosen to remain a senator rather than the mayor of the sector, it was not the choice of the heart but that of reason. I could not leave it to Ms. Ghali and Mr. Gilles, and even less to Guérini, to represent Marseille alone. I brought the economic, migratory reality, the reality of the insecurity of Marseilles to the Senate.
Are your ambitions more local or national?
My ambition is to get Marseille out of the rut. This city has strengths, extraordinary people. A political system stifles this city because one favors the small political career of one, the financial interests of the other. What interests me is to remake Marseille the city it was, with economic development, security for all the inhabitants, a quality of life for all and not excessive concreteisation. These people do not change, and continue to make fun of the Marseillais. I'm tired of it and I know it can change. Either we decide to be face down in front of the promoters, or we decide to tell them that's enough. Ms. Rubirola wants social housing everywhere, a welcoming city for migrants, she said, it's clean. Vassal, it's the same but it makes a speech and it does the opposite. With one or the other, we will continue to ruin Marseille.
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