Has the health crisis set aside the time for democracy ?
“Fortunately, the coronavirus does not interrupt the life of municipalities, because they are on the front line facing the crisis, as close as possible to the players on the ground. It also continues by respecting the basic rules of democracy, which are the decisions taken by a majority, the provision of information to the opposition and the holding, as quickly as possible, of a municipal council. “
Those of March 28 and April 6 had to be canceled ?
“Yes, but I plan to maintain that of May 18, probably in the process of deconfinement while we will still be under a state of health emergency. The two previous sessions were intended to be electoral and post-electoral, specifically the election of the mayor [le 28 mars, NDLR] and appointing new elected officials to represent the city of Le Havre. “
Under what conditions could he then be held ?
“They remain to be determined, since, as stipulated by the state of emergency, we have the option of keeping it either remotely or face-to-face. It provides for a relaxation of the quorum rules allowing us to meet not with, at a minimum, half of the elected representatives, but a third, so as to be able to be distributed in the room of the municipal council while respecting the distances which are essential. It will have two main components. That of the management of current affairs, namely those that were already in the pipeline and that we were ready to present even before the crisis. For example, regular support to our partners, associations in particular. And of course, a whole section detailing the new system implemented in this context of health crisis. Council which will be open to the public, but in limited number. “
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However, for this council to be held, the mayor must maintain contact with elected officials of majority and opposition. How to maintain it in these times of confinement ?
“Tuesday evening, and for the first time in videoconference since the beginning of the crisis, a council of deputies was held. It was a question of keeping him his rhythm, his classic articulation. Namely, a “tour de table” where everyone asks questions and takes over from the citizens and shares information. Then the presentation of the subjects on the agenda. Obviously, they are all linked to the crisis. I also plan to precede the council by the usual thematic commissions (finance, social development and others), again by videoconference in order to present and prepare the deliberations submitted to vote on May 18. For my part, I take care to keep all elected officials of the municipal council informed by sending them once a week, by email, a summary of the systems put in place to meet the most urgent needs. Whether it is the reception structures in schools for the children of nursing staff, members of the police, firefighters or staff working in crisis cells of large local authorities, or still adaptations of the CCAS to distribute food aid or ensure the follow-up of the fragile people that they are old, sick, isolated. “
Inevitably, the offices of elected officials in town hall and annexes could not be maintained …
” Effectively. A phone number is available as well as the email addresses of all elected officials to encourage citizens to call them. And it works. I get a lot more emails than usual. Largely on the issue of respecting containment. “
During the last council, some of the elected said: goodbye To the assembly. Will they be able to sit on May 18 ? Particularly your assistant, Marc Migraine, now elected in Arelaune-en-Seine ?
“Ultimately, they are all maintained, all extended. Including Marc Migraine insofar as the new municipal council in which he will sit has not been installed. “
What is your opinion on the postponement of the municipal deadline ?
“I hear all the questions. A postponement of the second round in June or late September. The reorganization of the election on the occasion of a regrouping with the regional and departmental in March 2021. But this is really not the priority subject of the moment. The question should be asked in mid-May. For the time being, we are really in the support of health personnel, residences for the elderly, in everything that can make life easier for our fellow citizens, some of whom suffer from confinement or even to ensure the safety of municipal officials who continue to work. “
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Nathalie Nail: “The impression that the mayor decides alone”
“ Communication from the mayor of the largest city in the Seine-Maritime department with regard to his fellow citizens is insufficient to say the least “, Judge Nathalie Nail, municipal councilor of communist opposition in Le Havre.
Believing that Jean-Baptiste Gastinne did not manifest himself publicly enough during this period of crisis, the one who was a candidate on the list of Jean-Paul Lecoq at the Municipal elections in March, now pending, against Édouard Philippe and the current mayor of Le Havre, regrets that his observation often earns him the reproach of seeking political controversy. The community counselor notes that Jean-Baptiste Gastinne speaks on social networks. ”
But the communication of the City, including in the media and by posting on the streets, is at least towards the population. It’s quite anxiety-provoking. I think of the families in most difficulty “Continues the elected official. Who also claims to have received information only two or three times since March 18 as a member of the municipal opposition. ”
We should have set up a committee, a council Covid-19 with an elected official from each municipal group. Yes, I have the impression that the mayor is alone, says Nathalie Nail.
The May 18 council, I was told, will be held to deal with
Current affairs. It would be a way to avoid controversy. Again, it’s an easy fire “, She supports.
Resources for school and hospital
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I am a member of the CCAS board of directors [Centre communal d’action sociale]
. However, it was Secours populaire who informed me of the city’s provision of gymnasiums for the distribution of food aid. It was afterwards that I received a note. I get very few », She still regrets. Similarly, she says, not having been alerted to the setting up for the CCAS of a call center, on April 1, in the town hall, in order to be attentive isolated elderly people.
For the PCF councilor, one of the big municipal issues will be the takeover for schools. ”
How can we select students and not others ? I do not see. The solution is to put in place great resources for May 11. But we’ve taken so many of them out of school in years … and we make a school map as if nothing had happened. What about priority education networks, future dropouts ? It’s a little supernatural ! It would be necessary to redouble additional means, still to reduce the manpower. ”
Finally, she hopes that a great effort will also be made for the benefit of the public hospital. ”
How many times have the nursing staff of the Le Havre hospital group come to sound the alarm, even in front of the municipal council ? They were looked down upon by the majority. ”
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