By Maëlys Dolbois
Published on 12 Feb 21 at 14:28
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After weeks of suspense, the administrative tribunal of Montreuil (Seine-Saint-Denis) has spoken. While Stéphen Hervé (LR) had been declared the winner against the outgoing mayor Sylvine Thomassin (PS) at the end of the elections of March 15 and June 28, 2020 in Bondy, the results are finally canceled.
A controversial leaflet
The distribution of a leaflet containing a false article from Parisian, motivated the decision. In the columns of the leaflet, two complaints against Sylvine Thomassin for “offenses of illegal taking of interests, passive influence peddling, embezzlement of public funds, complicity and concealment of these offenses”.
However, for the court, the distribution of this leaflet on the eve of the second round of the elections did not allow Sylvine Thomassin “to respond usefully to this new element of the electoral controversy relating to her personal integrity”.
64 voices difference
At the end of the second round of the municipal elections, there were only 64 votes of difference between Stéphen Hervé and Sylvine Thomassin. The winning list got 4,464 votes and the list of the PS 4,400.
It is therefore another fact that is singled out by the Montreuil court: different signatures for 19 voters in the election registers were noted. “We were not the ones who kept the town hall registers at that time, but Ms. Thomassin’s teams. We weren’t there yet, ”says one in town hall.
These votes would therefore be charged to the score of Stéphen Hervé. “Nothing tells us that these signatures were in favor of Stéphen Hervé”, we add. After these accounts, it would therefore remain that 45 votes difference between the two candidates.
Appeal to the Council of State
Since the election results, the climate has been heavy in Bondy, a town of 55,000 inhabitants. A few days ago, the finance assistant was assaulted even within the town hall. He was strangled and punched several times, given 8 days of ITT. “There is a spirit of revenge now, the remedies deny the inhabitants”.
Contacted by News-Seine-Saint-Denis, the current municipality indicates that a appeal will be filed with the Council of State to challenge the decision of the Montreuil court. “We respect the decision but we do not share the conclusions. The Bondynois chose during the second round. The decision of the Council of State will be rendered in several months.
The municipality had also filed an appeal against the campaign of Sylvine Thomassin, following the ballot, to denounce certain practices. “Our appeal is not taken into account and it is frustrating”, indicates a relative of the mayor.
The campaign accounts of the two candidates have been validated.
With Dorine Goth.
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