EDITORIAL. The resignation of the mayor of Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, a symptom of our sick democracy

Yannick Ronez’s decision sparked a wave of emotion in the political world. A tweet from Emmanuel Macron to express the “national solidarity”, the deputies of all the benches of the Assembly, except those of the National Rally, who rise to pay homage to the resigning mayor. It must be said that Yannick Ronez was the object of pressure from far-right activists, fueled originally by the RN and Reconquest, the movement of Eric Zemmour. Insults, threats, and finally the night fire of his home led him to throw in the towel.

Emotion therefore, but also controversial since he said he felt “abandoned” by the State which would not have granted him the protection which he claimed. The prefecture defended itself. Beyond this particular case, this resignation calls out because it reflects the serious illness that is eating away at our democracy. The first symptom is the growing influence of the extreme right. In Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, it was she who stirred up hatred against this center for asylum seekers. When the RN, the presentable facade of the far right, weighs so much in the public debate, it is not surprising that less frequentable activists let go. We saw it last week with during the ultra-right parade in Paris. The State must be vigilant: threats of the same type as in Saint-Brevin are in the making in the handful of municipalities where refugee centers have been temporarily set up.

These mayors have agreed to fulfill their republican duty to welcome them, the Republic must protect them

Mayors have become targets, and if this is not new, the phenomenon is getting worse. Threats and attacks, which come from all radical currents, are on the rise. The associations of elected officials are worried about it, Matignon announces the creation of a new body.

The movement of “yellow vests” marked a turning point. Since then, we have become accustomed to seeing offices vandalized and elected officials hunted down. As if the violence of social networks had spread in the street and sometimes even, verbally, even in the hemicycle. Whoever they are, the elected accomplices must not delude themselves: if they let violence eat away at democracy, they will one day, in turn, all be its victims.