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It is an election which, from all points of view, shows the decline experienced by the Les Républicains party. With nearly 4,500 members in Gard during Nicolas Sarkozy’s five-year term, the right-wing party saw its attractiveness drop so much so that only 730 members were called to vote on November 26 and 27 to elect the president of the department but also constituency delegates, members of constituency committees as well as the 12 representatives of the federation on the National Council.

Richard Tibérino, former security assistant in Nîmes currently in charge of the security of public and private buildings, road safety and the prevention of juvenile delinquency, was therefore elected to a seat since he was the only one in the running. A month ago, however, the position was promised to the outgoing president, Christophe Rivenq. For many years now, a tacit agreement had been made among Les Républicains to respect territorial balances. Thus, the post of president had to go to an Alesian and the secretariat to a Nîmes, occupied today by Franck Proust, president of Nîmes Métropole. But the mayor of Nîmes, Jean-Paul Fournier, takes a dim view of Christophe Rivenq’s “approximation” with the government, since a rumor of seeing him join it circulated during the last reshuffle. Fournier therefore wanted another candidate to stand against him and it was Richard Tibérino who stuck to it. For his part, Rivenq immediately withdrew from the race, well aware that a battle against the powerful Nîmes federation would be perilous. He says he didn’t want to run again anyway.

In a letter sent to activists up to date with contributions, the president of Alès Agglomération still settled his accounts. “ For small personal ambitions, and perhaps a spirit of revenge, some preferred to put a penknife on our agreements, using fallacious and lying pretexts. writes Rivenq who assures not “ be Macron-compatible ». Some Republicans regret the profile of Richard Tibérino, starting with his age (68 years) and his political line, since he is an unwavering support of Eric Ciotti. “ People don’t care so much, we’re in the middle but it would be interesting if some people said what they told me, especially those from Nîmes. I received more than 150 responses that share what I said in this letter. But I don’t shoot ambulances », Explains Christophe Rivenq, who will still speak on the subject in the coming days.

Above all, Richard Tibérino had been put in the closet in recent months and appeared very rarely in official photos. The elected official had in fact been targeted at the end of November 2022 by a complaint for sexual harassment and psychological violence. The complainant admitted to having maintained a consensual relationship with him for several months, which quickly deteriorated. Among our colleagues from France 3 Occitaniethe thirty-year-old, who wishes to remain anonymous, described sexual games, voyeurism, slaps and attempts at strangulation that were allegedly imposed on her: « I was ashamed and afraid at the same time. I couldn’t refuse any longer. I was paralyzed, so I accepted. Afterwards I got into my car which was parked in the parking lot and I burst into tears,” she explained.

For his part, Richard Tibérino has always denied these accusations and speaks of a consensual relationship then of a desire for revenge following the breakup.