Jacques Peyrat is once again a candidate for re-election, what are your feelings about this?
I have never doubted that Jacques Peyrat would run for re-election. In fact, it’s a non-event to hear him affirm his desire to seek a new term since he has repeatedly stated this since 2001.
Will you be one of his competitors in the upcoming municipal elections?
Yes. Nice deserves a real municipal debate to outline the future directions that our fellow citizens expect.
If yes, what are the main points of your project for the city of Nice?
It is too early to reveal detailed programs. I will certainly propose a radical change in the management methods of the City Hall: more listening to the people of Nice, projects that meet their expectations (including housing, sports, and early childhood care). The population is changing and getting younger, and the city government seems to be ignoring this. There also needs to be more transparency, as well as ambitious projects to reinvigorate the city. Nice is the fifth largest city in France and is not regarded as such at the national level. This must change urgently.
Who do you think the other candidates in this election will be?
There will be candidates “sent” by the parties and those who can transcend these divisions to unite beyond the “clans” of Nice’s men and women.
Do you think that uniting forces might be a good strategy for both the right and the left in the next Nice election?
I will ensure that my list is a unifying list because this is what the voters expect. This choice must be credible and mobilizing. We must represent the alternative to Jacques Peyrat and to the left. Indeed, if this alternative did not exist, there would be a great danger of seeing the left win the election to cast a punitive vote against the incumbent. Unfortunately, this has happened over the 10 years Mr. Peyrat has run the City Hall. Of the 14 districts in Nice, 7 have switched to the left. It is time to give the people of Nice the opportunity to vote FOR a team and a project rather than AGAINST the representatives of a team that is running out of steam.
Can you introduce us to the main members of your team?
It is too early to present a team now, as it is being formed over time. I am surrounded by women and men who, through their experiences and skills, already contribute a lot to the life of the city. They are representatives of civil society working in associations, business, and men and women who will represent the change that Nice awaits. Today we are working on projects for the future and we will be happy to present them when the time comes.
If you had to play the fortune teller, what would be the trio in a possible second round and who would be the winner?
I am not a fortune teller. What matters to me today is that democracy is expressed in our city. Voters must be able to choose…and this from the first round. This is how I see politics—in offering diversity and not in monopolizing ideas for the benefit of one strategy or another.
What is your wish on the evening of the 2008 municipal elections?
My wish on the evening of the 2008 municipal elections is to unite the people of Nice, reignite their pride in being from Nice, and give them hope for the future. It must be felt that the city will finally move, and not just based on the current slogan “a city in motion” which is not the movement the people of Nice want.
