“We are not a court, but we are here to understand,” said the president of the Senate Law Commission on Thursday, the day after the hearing of the resigning mayor of Saint-Brevin.
The Senate Law Commission expects local authorities “the truth” about what they “did or did not do”, explained Thursday, May 18 on franceinfo François-Noël Buffet, senator LR du Rhône, president of the Senate Law Commission. He is one of the people who auditioned in the Senate on Wednesday May 17 for the resigning mayor of Saint-Brevin.
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Yannick Morez has been threatened several times. His home was set on fire on March 22 while he was supporting a reception center project for asylum seekers (Cada). “He could have died, him and his family”is indignant François-Noël Buffet.
franceinfo: What did Yannick Morez tell you?
Francois-Noel Buffet: He described his situation to us in detail, in a very calm and structured way. It was very impressive precision. We note at the end of his remarks that indeed, he was alone during this period, it is the way in which he presents it and there is no reason to question his word. He didn’t get the support or help he was hoping for to deal with the threats. Proven threats, which were concretized in March by the fire of his house. It was his neighbors who declared the fire. He could have died, he and his family. At no time, he says, did he have the support of local state services.
He alerted by mail the gendarmerie, the sub-prefect, the prefect of Loire-Atlantique, on these threats, but according to him, nothing happened. Should the Law Commission hear these people?
Absolutely. We are here to get to the bottom of things and find out the truth. We will therefore continue our hearings. I will do so with the mission that is in place in the Senate on the life of municipalities and mayors. We must hear the sub-prefect, the prefect, the gendarmerie services, all those who have contributed locally to this situation in order to fully understand, to have a contradictory debate as a matter of principle, to ask them questions and to hear what they have to say.
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What do you expect from them?
I’m waiting for the truth of what they did or didn’t do. We are not a court, but we are there to understand and control the action of the government, of our institutions and to know why things have not been done. Were there elements that prevented an action, an investigation, why a silence of this nature even though the mayor was highlighting very clear threats, that there is violence, that he received distributing leaflets to question his integrity, he was intimidated. He found himself alone, without any real support. It’s not acceptable.
The government has announced a plan to toughen penalties against those who attack elected officials, up to seven years in prison. Is it sufficient ?
It will be useful, but what is regrettable and we have been saying this since 2019, since the death of the mayor of Signes (Var), the Senate has launched a major investigation among the mayors and we have had very significant feedback on threats that weigh on them. We had commitments made at one time by the State on the establishment of mechanisms, in particular judicial, of direct contact with the public prosecutors, between the prefects and the mayors. But it didn’t work.
“I really want us to have a new system, but the challenge is that it works, that it is operational”
François-Noël Buffet, President of the Senate Law Commissionat franceinfo
Beyond the increase in sentences which is necessary, a system must really be structured which allows the prefect to be in direct contact with the prefect. But I don’t want to generalize, because there are departments where prefects are very close to elected officials, and have set up systems. The situation of Saint-Brevin is not generalized in the behavior of the prefecture. Any system that will strengthen the bond is helpful.