This is proof of a
“culture of centralization that is still too present”.
For a week, the mayor (various left) of Dunkirk (North), Patrice Vergriete, has been alerting to the health situation in his town and regrets not being heard by the government.
In a few days, the incidence rate there fell from 384 to 515 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 inhabitants.
In question: the arrival of the British variant.
"80% of positive cases are now cases of English variant"
, specifies the councilor.
To read also:
Dunkirk: faced with the English variant, the mayor denounces "disconnected" measures
In a video published Wednesday, the elected official calls on his constituents to be
"extremely vigilant"
.
And to
"break the chains of contamination"
, Patrice Vergriete also asked the state to close colleges and high schools, as well as the possibility for parents to keep their children schooled at home.
A scenario, one week before the holidays, refused by the government.
"The State shows its inability to listen to us, there is an absolutely unbearable power relationship in this country"
, reacts the city councilor.
On the other hand, Patrice Vergriete says he is
“proud”
of his constituents, because when he looks out of his office window, he notices that the streets are deserted.
"Fortunately, people show common sense and know how to listen to a message, especially when it comes from a mayor,"
said the elected official.
And to add:
"The State is still in the culture of mistrust towards the local elected officials, whereas we know our territories."
Presence of new variants
This anger is shared by several local elected officials.
In Metz (Moselle), the mayor (LR) François Grosdidier says he is
“desperate”
.
At the end of December, the elected official was already pleading for a local reconfinement.
An advanced curfew at 6 p.m. was finally put in place on January 2, before being generalized to the whole country.
A month and a half later, François Grosdidier is again alarmed by an “
explosion
” of contaminations, this time aggravated by the presence of the South African and Brazilian variants.
"We see it in particular among 10-20 year olds, it is a new phenomenon"
, remarks the elected official.
We decide, seen from above, that dropping out of school and economic choices take precedence over everything else, leading to decisions that are inadequate with the field.
François Grosdidier, mayor (LR) of Metz
In this context, the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, himself went there last Friday.
But as in Dunkirk, neither local re-containment nor early school closures have been granted.
"We are quite amazed to see that the government decides not to budge,"
denounces the Republican councilor.
For him, it is the end of the “
mayor-prefect couple”
, put forward by Prime Minister Jean Castex in the management of the crisis.
“We have returned to bureaucratic centralism.
We decide, seen from above, that dropping out of school and economic choices take precedence over everything else, leading to decisions that are inadequate with the field, ”
says François Grosdidier.
Read also:
In Moselle, nearly 800 cases linked to the South African variant have been spotted
These territories were nevertheless heard on the subject of vaccination.
Moselle has already received 30,000 additional doses.
A vaccination center will thus open in Thionville, a neighboring city of Metz.
"
This is good news",
comments the mayor (various centers), Pierre Cuny.
Before qualifying:
“Vaccination itself will not solve things.
There is a race between this mutating virus and the vaccination coverage rate, we really have to accelerate. ”
