Will the good news turn into a poisoned gift? The current mayor of Sarcelles, Patrick Haddad, was invested on Tuesday by the national office of the Socialist Party for the municipal elections next March.
“I take note of the decision of the competent authorities. I now call for a large rally of the left behind me, claims Patrick Haddad. All people of good will are welcome. “
In an email sent this Wednesday, the forties, mayor since December 2018, now hopes to receive the support of local activists. “I know I can count on you, as you can count on me,” he wrote.
“It’s a lack of respect”
But it could be more complicated than expected. The nomination, after a unanimous vote by the members of the national office, created a lively internal controversy. “The process is new! Local activists have always chosen their candidate for Sarcelles. There, it is a lack of respect towards us, plague an activist.
Especially since a section meeting is scheduled for Thursday. “I am very surprised by the decision at the national level because he did not consult the head of section and the federation before”, is surprised Jocelyn Assor, head of the local PS section. Note that the assistant to the living environment was himself a candidate for the nomination of his party.
Party statutes questioned
Neither the section nor the federation have spoken beforehand. The vote had been frozen after the appeal of Patrick Haddad, denouncing possible “ghost activists” within the section. It therefore seems to have been short-circuited. A meeting of the federation is to take place next Monday. “I will speak only at the end,” is content to comment on Rachid Temal, senator and first secretary of the PS federation of Val-d’Oise.
Some activists also denounce a non-respect of the party statutes. However, these stipulate that “the decision of the invested candidate is taken by the national council for parliamentary, European, regional and municipal elections for municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants. “ This is the case of Sarcelles, which has three times more.
The mayor talks about stability, the opponents tackle
Patrick Haddad, he defends himself from all maneuvers to overrule the activists and underlines the “logic” of investing the outgoing mayors. “It has always been the party line,” he says. Given the political instability experienced by our city (Editor’s note: four mayors in two years), the national office seems to have wanted to take matters into their own hands. “
His opponents are having fun. The former mayor of Sarcelles, François Pupponi, denounces an “irresponsible” method. “Frankly, it’s a funny way to get started. You can not ignore the advice of those who will campaign for you, “says the MP (DVG) of the 8th constituency, who resigned this Friday from city council.
