- The environmental candidate Stéphane Baly lost in the second round of the municipal elections in Lille, to 227 votes, against Martine Aubry.
- Originally from Vannes, he discovered very little ecology.
- At 48, this engineer, specializing in energy and holding a doctorate, entered politics in a spirit of resistance.
After being his ally, he will become his main opponent. Stéphane Baly came close to realizing the surprise during the second round of the municipal elections by dropping the mayor (PS) of Lille, Martine Aubry. With 227 votes near, the ecological candidate therefore missed his bet.
Results of the municipal elections in Lille
Originally from Vannes, he discovered ecology when he was very young. "In primary school, there was a vegetable patch, a weather station," he says. And above all, I was marked by the series of cartoons Once upon a time, the man ”. The school but also its education make him a convinced eco-friend. "My father, who was a technical school teacher, went to work on foot and we always sorted at home," he recalls.
Teacher at HEI and at the Central School
Aged 48, this engineer, specializing in energy and holding a doctorate, entered politics in a spirit of resistance in 1998. The president of the former Picardy region, Charles Baur, had just to be re-elected thanks to an agreement between the right and the extreme right. “It was an electric shock. I said to myself: don't count on your neighbor to defend your ideals. "
The young man, studying in Compiègne, then in London, joined the Green party. He will never leave it. In 2003, he landed in Lille as a teacher at HEI and at the Central School. It was during this period that he co-founded Virage Energie, an association of several collectives. Objective: to offer alternative solutions to nuclear and petroleum.
"He was a hard worker, methodical, regular and very reliable in his commitments," recalls the current president of Virage Energie, Paulo-Serge Lopes, who rubbed shoulders with him fifteen years ago. He is not a stubborn person. I'm never yelled at with him ”. And in the environmentalist party, this is a rare situation.
Martine Aubry, "the mistress of Lille"
Within Virage Energie and Enercoop, Stéphane Baly will trace his furrow until his engagement on the EELV list at the municipal elections in Lille, in 2014. He is elected municipal councilor on a union list with the PS of Martine Aubry which he now calls "the mistress of Lille", in reference to his professorial authority.
Head of elected environmentalists, he therefore played unruly students throughout the previous mandate. An EELV alumnus criticizes her for not "having had enough authority over her group". "He was unable to contain the criticism while participating in the executive. It jeopardized the work accomplished together. He is a convinced ecologist who has a real desire to carry out the ecological transformation, but we cannot do ecology against the will of the people ”,“ she denounces.
Another regional figure of EELV thinks on the contrary that it is "capable of bringing together beyond the circle of green activists". "He is a pure environmentalist, little concerned with the leftist and social vision of the movement," she slips. "One thing is certain," notes Paulo-Serge Lopes. We will never take it for want of energy commitment and urban planning. Another thing is certain: the debates are likely to be tense at the Lille municipal council.
Municipal
Martine Aubry wins with only 227 votes ahead of environmentalists
Municipal
"The city needs to change software", according to Stéphane Baly, candidate (EELV) for municipal elections in Lille
- Elections
- Lille
- Martine Aubry
- Mayor