Le Figaro Nantes
“Moral violence against elected officials is sometimes more destructive than physical violence”
: Nadège Placé, mayor of Vue, in Loire-Atlantique, speaks knowingly.
In this town of 1600 inhabitants, the former city councilor no longer has the right to set foot in the town hall.
Except for administrative procedures.
He is also prohibited from contacting his successor.
Thursday, December 1, Pascal Rabevolo, already dismissed from his position as opposition adviser by the Administrative Court in 2021, was placed under judicial supervision.
Pending appearance at a hearing scheduled for May 15, 2023. “
I wouldn't say it's a relief.
It is normal in the sense that when someone breaks the law, he must have to deal with justice, especially when it comes to harassment, insult and defamation,
reacts Nadège Placed to
Figaro
.
It is a decision of the prosecutor awaiting judgment.
I'm happy for now."
Read alsoViolence, inflation, energy ... The great discomfort of mayors
The latter had filed several complaints against him since June 2020, including one for contempt.
She had regretted her intervention in several municipal councils, during which the gendarmes had intervened on several occasions.
According to information from
Ouest France
, Pascal Rabevolo has also filed complaints against his replacement.
A letter addressed to Emmanuel Macron
Beyond this story, this placement under judicial supervision comes a week after the filing of a letter to Emmanuel Macron.
On Wednesday, November 23, during the traditional Salon des Maires, Nadège Placé hand-delivered to the president a letter signed by 550 elected officials from Loire-Atlantique, from left and right.
If the case of View was mentioned there, “
the slowness of justice and the classifications without follow-up for lack of means reinforce the feeling of impunity and all power of the perpetrators of offenses against elected officials
”, we also read there.
Read alsoThe worrying increase in violence against local elected officials
“
We are indeed registering a few complaints for this type of event, fortunately still few in number.
We feel that this is a growing concern on the part of our elected officials
", indicates to
Le Figaro
Renaud Gaudeul, the public prosecutor of Nantes, who distinguishes two types of facts: "
the difficulties that elected officials encounter with their constituents, and the facts denounced in what is presented as being a political conflict
”.
The file of the mayor of Vue “
is the proof.
We must be careful that the penal response does not undermine the democratic game.
In this case, I considered that the behavior and comments made by this individual went beyond what could be accepted in the context of a democratic debate
”.
“Court congestion”
If it is difficult to list the number of attacks at the departmental level, the elected officials of Loire-Atlantique refer to national statistics.
“
In 2020, there were 1,276 reports, of which a quarter of the facts were insults or written threats and, in the same proportion, attacks on private property.
In 2021, we observe an explosion of these aggressions and incivilities, having jumped by 47%
”, underline the Association of Mayors of Loire-Atlantique (AMF 44) and the Association of Rural Mayors of Loire-Atlantique (AMR 44).
According to figures from the Ministry of the Interior, between July 12, 2021 (announcement of the establishment of the health pass) and October 31, 2022, 3,018 legal proceedings for attacking an elected official were established in France, including 1,183 during in the second half of 2021 and 1835 in the first ten months of 2022.
"
The procedural action must be firmer, not to close the files without follow-up
", insists Maurice Perrion, president of the AMF 44, even if he is aware of
"the congestion of the courts
".
“You have to identify the attacks.
When they are too important, then it is worth bringing them to justice
, ”he adds.
The mayor of Ligné remembers seeing his effigy hanged on social networks as part of the transfer of a training center: “
I filed a complaint once.
But I have thicker skin
”.
Today, the AMF is also a civil party during attacks on elected officials.
When we are attacked, we attack the Republic
Gwenaël Crahes, Mayor of La Grigonnais
Gwenaël Crahes, mayor of La Grigonnais, north of Nantes, is one of the victims.
In July, an incident occurred in the playground.
At the end of school, a parent of a pupil was not "
cooling off
".
"
I asked him to calm down but then he turned to his daughters and said, 'get in the car, I don't want you to see this, I'm going to beat him up'
" .
Finally, the chosen one had time to call the gendarmerie and escaped the beatings.
“
When we are attacked, we attack the Republic
”, affirms the one who went to file a complaint.
"
Five months later, it's skating
," notes the city councilor of 1,700 inhabitants.
“
In rural communities, we are more impacted.
We are within range of shouting matches, slaps and gunshots
, ”says Roch Chéraud, president of AMR 44 and mayor of Saint-Viaud.
As for the profiles of the aggressors, they are varied: “
a former mayor who knows the law;
the village alcoholic, the frustrated parent who didn't get his building permit;
the one who no longer has access to the internet: the mayor is the good Lord, he must know how to do everything!
".
Read alsoInsults, attacks, death threats … Violence against elected officials explodes
“
We feel that we have elected officials who are on the verge of resigning, or on the verge of breaking down physically and mentally
”, continues Robert Samama, departmental referent (AMF44) of the Observatory
of attacks against local elected officials and mayor du Pouliguen, while noting that these behaviors affect "
many professions: firefighters, police...
".
A tax official was even killed recently, in Pas-de-Calais.
Loire-Atlantique remains very marked by the suicide of the mayor of Rezé, in February 2022, within the town hall.
Hervé Neau had notably received malicious mail "
relating essentially to his private life and which could be considered as defamatory
" according to the prosecutor.
An investigation had been opened for "
moral harassment
".
Preventive measures
“
The fact of being able to prosecute in court remains relatively rare
”, explains the prosecutor, specifying that other sanctions exist, like citizenship courses.
“
The subject is taken very seriously by the prosecution
,” insists Renaud Gaudeul.
A legal assistant works particularly on matters concerning elected officials.
Read alsoAggression, incivility: mayors at the school of the gendarmerie
In addition, the police offer training to learn how to defend themselves.
On the police side, two sessions have been organized by the RAID in Nantes and one in Saint-Nazaire since July 1, 2021. 24 elected officials have thus learned how to react in the event of conflict or incivility.
On the gendarmerie side, the national Gend'Élus application
,
launched in December 2021, makes it possible to discuss with the authorities.
Also, seven training sessions, in partnership with GIGN negotiators, were set up with 136 mayors, deputies or municipal councillors, in 77 municipalities in the department.
The authorities are ready to organize others, if new elected officials come forward.