Regional in France: why the government is asking mayors for their opinion
French Prime Minister Jean Castex, April 1, 2021 at the National Assembly.
AP - Michel Euler
Text by: Valérie Gas Follow
2 min
The question of postponing - or not - the regional elections, scheduled for June 13 and 20, continues to be debated.
By deciding on Friday April 9 to seek their opinion directly from the mayors "via" the prefects, the government revived the controversy and aroused suspicion on the part of the opposition.
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Left and right, opposition leaders have stepped up to denounce what they describe as a “
maneuver
”, a “
manipulation
” of the government to
postpone regional elections
.
The parties and associations of elected officials already consulted by the Prime Minister had generally requested that these dates be maintained.
So why has the government chosen to send a letter directly to the mayors, before the debate in Parliament next week?
A minister said it a few days ago: “
I can sense a reluctance on the part of the communal bloc, on the conditions for organizing the ballot.
Hell
”.
The mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi (Les Républicains), came Sunday April 11 to bring water to the government mill by declaring: "
The only campaign that must prevail is the vaccination campaign (against the Covid-19, editor's note).
"
In the majority, some heavyweights like Richard Ferrand or François Bayrou had already warned against maintaining the poll in June, for health reasons but also political.
Elections without a campaign would be giving a bonus to incumbents like Xavier Bertrand or Valérie Pécresse, potential opponents of Emmanuel Macron in 2022. One thing is certain: with
the experience of municipal 2020
, the government wants to avoid carrying alone responsibility for the decision.
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France
French politics
Jean Castex
Emmanuel Macron
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