Elected officials “must not be left alone” François-Noël Buffet demands action after the resignation of the mayor of Saint-Brévin-les-Pins, following the arson attack on his house. Yannick Morez was invited by the Senate to be heard before the law commission on Wednesday May 17.
“There is no question for a moment that what he suffered will not be followed up and that we will not make it a top priority.“, declared Thursday May 11 on franceinfo François-Noël Buffet, senator LR of the Rhône and president of the commission of laws and culture of the Senate, after the resignation of Yannick Morez. The mayor of Saint-Brévin-les-Pins, commune of Loire-Atlantique where a project concerning a reception center for asylum seekers is arousing strong opposition, announced his resignation on Wednesday after the arson attack on his home in March.It is for this reason that we asked him to come before the law commission next Wednesday to explain the situation he experienced and the process that led to his resignation.“, specified François-Noël Buffet.
>>> Resignation of the mayor of Saint-Brevin: criticized for his “lack of support”, the executive wants to reassure elected officials
franceinfo: Yannick Morez, mayor of Saint-Brévin-les-Pins, did he, in your opinion, lack state support?
Francois-Noel Buffet: It is for this reason that we asked him to come before the law commission next Wednesday to explain the situation he experienced and the process that led to his resignation. It is not acceptable that mayors, more and more numerous, are victims of such levels of aggression and which endanger their lives, their families. These attacks are unacceptable with regard to elected officials who assume responsibilities for the community. We must not forget that there has been a 30% increase in recent years in violence against elected officials. The situation is not improving. Now everything is a pretext for violence, excess and mayors, elected officials are the first victims. If indeed he has alerted the State services on several occasions and there has been no reaction from them then there will be other questions to be asked and we will continue the hearings and we will perhaps go be further away. There is no question for a moment that what he suffered will not be followed up and that we will not make it an absolute priority.
franceinfo: “Go further”, what does that mean?
To go further is to go further in the analysis of the situation. Was there a real absence of support, a deficiency, something that was not carried out. When an elected representative of the Republic reports that he is under pressure, that he files a complaint, the central administration, the prefect, the prosecutor, the local authorities must be in permanent contact with the elected representatives who report situations of this nature. . They should not be left alone. We must carry out investigations, take measures to protect them. The question now is the means made available to our police and justice services to ensure the protection of this mayor who shows that he is at risk.
franceinfo: The political class which is indignant today, does it not participate in a kind of desacralization of the function of elected official?
She probably participates in a small part but we need to find appeasement. Mayors are the elected officials closest to the population, they are those in whom the French have the most confidence. These are the most affordable. It is unacceptable that we do not respect mayors and elected officials.