It’s not just Emmanuel Macron who consults with mayors. At the end of the day on Wednesday July 5, the day after the reception organized by the President at the Élysée Palace, Édouard Philippe’s party, Horizons, convened an internal council of mayors. A time of videoconference exchanges hosted by the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, in which around 180 municipal members of Horizons took part. All shared, the day after the outbreak of fever in the neighborhoods, “an expectation of great firmness” and “a feeling of a frightening loss of authority”, reports the elected representative of the South to Point. “If we don’t take the measure of the phenomenon, it will start again and can degenerate into civil war”, he warns, pointing to the scourge of drug trafficking “which shapes a whole generation of young people”.
These philippist mayors want to be heard and will work during the summer on measures and ways to learn from the crisis, as Emmanuel Macron invited them to do. “The president’s confidence in mayors has been well received in our party. Everyone now expects that it does not remain at the stage of words, ”says Christian Estrosi.
For the Horizons mayors, therefore, the time has come to administer a “decentralization shock” to the country. In this sense, Emmanuel Macron’s statements on Tuesday, July 4, during the meeting at the Élysée, were rather welcome. Contractualization of city policy, more resources allocated to the municipal police, better coordination of the State with the communities… The ideas are certainly not revolutionary but find new relevance in the light of events. “Mayors must be able to access the files of wanted, convicted or repeat offenders, have the means to operate against drug trafficking, urban rodeos, but also be entrusted with the allocation of social housing and accommodation for ’emergency,’ says Christian Estrosi.
On the subject of education, a project considered a priority by Édouard Philippe – who is due to publish a book on the subject at the start of the school year – Horizons recommends assigning experienced teachers to the neighborhoods and allocating them bonuses. In criminal matters, the right-wing party urges to toughen the tone vis-à-vis juvenile offenders, by lowering the age for carrying out work of general interest “to 12 or 13 years”, even to accompany the sanction of an electronic bracelet “to keep them at home”.
In the period, “supporting the government is a requirement”, affirms the former minister of Nicolas Sarkozy, who considers that the executive has proved to be up to par in the response to the scale of the riots. “Gérald Darmanin fully assumed his responsibilities in a very professional manner. In unity, we are alongside the president and the police,” said the mayor of Nice. Conversely, the “thugs put themselves outside the nation”, as did “Jean-Luc Mélenchon and La France insoumise, who encouraged them”.
Christian Estrosi therefore encourages Emmanuel Macron to continue to rely on mayors. Because, “unlike the president, the mayors have a majority that can allow them to implement their priorities”. Stingy with words, Édouard Philippe is preparing “a strong intervention” at the start of the school year. “This crisis will, without a doubt, leave lasting traces in our urban spaces and in our minds,” he wrote earlier this week in a letter to his party’s adherents.
