Charles Guyard (in Saint-Brévin) / Photo credit: Sebastien SALOM-GOMIS / AFP 09:11, June 10, 2023

A month after the shock resignation of Yannick Morez, targeted by violence and threats from the ultra-right because of the relocation of a reception center for refugees in his commune, the City Council met Friday night to elect a new mayor. The former first deputy, Dorothée Pacaud, was elected in a tense atmosphere.

The City Council of Saint-Brévin, organized Friday night under police protection, has appointed its new mayor, who succeeds Yannick Morez. And barely elected, Dorothée Pacaud was immediately put in the perfume of what her predecessor may have suffered when a handful of ultra-right demonstrators came to punctuate the debates. Not enough to impress the newly elected representative, who says that the reception center for asylum seekers would open as planned at the end of the year.

"I am very serene"

Smoke, leaflets and hostile slogans. It was in a rather electric atmosphere that took place the municipal council of Saint-Brévin, which saw the police forced to intervene to keep away the dozen demonstrators of the ultra-right who came on purpose from Angers and Tours in particular. However, this did not prevent Dorothée Pacaud from being elected mayor in place of Yannick Morez.

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"I was kind of expecting this tough start, but I was prepared for it. We know that there is a context that is perhaps a little complicated, but for all that, I am very serene. I will be vigilant, but I am not afraid, no. Fear does not avoid danger. I think we can't live in fear either," she said.

A new complaint filed

No fear, but a determination to fight. Thus, wearing her brand new tricolor scarf, Dorothée Pacaud has indicated her intention to file a complaint. Just before, his predecessor, Yannick Morez had taken the floor to make a final wish. "I hope that the measures announced by the government will allow all elected officials to be able to exercise their mandate in peaceful conditions. The survival of our democracy is at stake," the former mayor said.

The follow-up that the courts will give to the complaint will provide precisely a first element of response.