The first deputy of Saint-Brevin-les-Pins Dorothée Pacaud was elected mayor of this town in Loire-Atlantique on Friday evening after the resounding resignation of Yannick Morez, targeted by threats and violence from the far right, according to a correspondent. AFP on the spot.
This 45-year-old teacher, without a label, becomes the first woman to head this seaside resort of 14,800 inhabitants. His predecessor had resigned with a bang after months of tension around the relocation of a reception center for asylum seekers (CADA).
The city council meeting, early Friday evening, was held in a somewhat tense atmosphere.
A dozen young ultra-right activists presented themselves in front of the windows of the municipal council brandishing smoke bombs and shouting "Yesterday Annecy, tomorrow Saint-Brévin", before being repelled by the gendarmes. These activists were not from the town, according to the gendarmes.
"I expected this introduction and I was prepared for it," Dorothée Pacaud, 45, told the press, wearing her tricolor scarf.
"However, I approach the next three years with great serenity," she added. "I think my predecessor's word has carried high and I am hopeful of more support."
Former DVD mayor Yannick Morez explained his choice to leave office after the "flagrant" lack of state support since the formalization, at the end of 2021, of the transfer of this center near a school in his town.
Target of threats, the attacks against him had culminated on March 22 in the early morning with the fire of two vehicles of the mayor in front of his home, the facade of which had also been affected by the flames while he slept there with his family.
During his hearing in the Senate on May 17, Mr. Morez pointed out that his deputies had also been victims of a smear campaign by the far right on the internet.
Since the acceptance of the resignation of the mayor by the prefect, Dorothée Pacaud exercised the function of acting mayor.
Mother of three children, never inserted in a party, this history and geography teacher in college was elected for the first time in Saint-Brévin in 2014. First in charge of the environment, she became first assistant in 2017.
Until now, she was in charge of culture, heritage and twinning.
On Friday, in front of the entrance to the municipal council, a few residents opposed to the CADA had distributed a leaflet signed by Bernard Germain, spokesperson for the "Coordination Partout Callac", also referring to the tragedy in Annecy.
Questioned by two anti-CADA residents after the municipal council, she denounced a "scandalous amalgamation" with the drama of Annecy, stressing that "racism is not a political opinion but a crime".
She specified that the work of the CADA would continue and that it would open as planned at the end of the year.
"I am convinced that once it is open, everything will calm down," commented Yannick Morez. "Since 2016 and the arrival of the first migrants, we have never had any problems in Saint-Brévin," he added.
09/06/2023 23:25:35 - Saint-Brevin-les-Pins (France) (AFP) - © 2023 AFP
