Stupor, but also anger. In Rezé, the city remains shaken by the suicide of its mayor, Hervé Neau, whose body was found Friday morning in the annex town hall. A drama which could have a link with “malicious letters” received by the first aedile. He even had made contact at the beginning of the week with the public prosecutor on this subject.
In front of a tobacco bar in the Ragon district, passers-by stop in front of the headlines of local newspapers. Some are surprised, others are still in shock. “Oh dear, it’s awful, it’s sad“, said in tears Marie-Chantal. This retiree takes a pause before resuming her sentence: “Still why take it out on the mayor? I don’t understand, I’m upset”she breathes.
Elected officials on the front line
“It is the current climate that is deleterious, launches Jacques with his newspaper in his hand. This verbal violence, this lack of tolerance towards the other, I can’t stand it.” A feeling shared by the people who pass by there this morning, that ofwidespread violence against elected officials. “I think justice must be very harsh against the people behind these letters”slice Dominica.
We are faced with an evolution of society that is no longer acceptable. David Lisnard, President of the Association of Mayors of France
In front of the town hall, the silence is heavy. A steady stream of people file past the candles and flowers arranged in tribute to Hervé Neau. “We have to find these bastards, this kind of people contributed to his death, they are assassins“, says Olivier. This tall man has come to bring a bouquet of flowers. He did not know the mayor, but for him these malicious letters are dangerous for democracy.
The concern about this violence
Elected officials are also asking questions in the aftermath of this tragedy. Hervé Neau was a member of the board of directors of the local branch of the Association of Mayors of France (AMF) led by Maurice Perrion. “There is a direct line that has been set up between the public prosecutor and the elected officials, recalls the chairman of the AMF 44. I have no doubt that justice will do what is necessary and make every effort to find the perpetrators and punish them in an exemplary manner.”
