Le Figaro Bordeaux
When he approaches the policy pursued by his successor, he never goes with the back of the spoon.
Nicolas Florian, former mayor (Les Républicains) of Bordeaux, held a back-to-school press conference this Friday.
He took the opportunity to criticize the measures taken since 2020 by his successor, the ecologist Pierre Hurmic, whom he hopes to dethrone in 2026, starting by
“laying stones and milestones”
this year.
Seeing in his successor a
“big sayer, little doer”
, Nicolas Florian reacted to Pierre Hurmic's stated desire to make Bordeaux “ a
solar
city
”, by massively developing photovoltaic energy on public buildings and by encouraging individuals and businesses to do the same.
“Today
you have rats everywhere
and Pierre Hurmic tells us about a solar city, he thinks he’s an Inca!”
According to him, the ecologist would propose
"more of a lunar city"
, especially with the generalization of nighttime light extinction launched a year ago in some of the streets with little traffic, in particular to save energy.
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The elected Republican also criticized the idea of a solar shade to cover the ring road.
This pharaonic project has been the subject of much discussion for several months and has just obtained approval from the prefect for an experiment on an urban boulevard.
Admitting that
“no one can deny the issue of global warming anymore”
, Nicolas Florian nevertheless believes that it would be more judicious to first electrify all public vehicles before considering a photovoltaic project of this magnitude.
Since 2020,
“the city is dirtier, less “secure”, not greener, but there are more taxes”
, criticizes the successor of Alain Juppé, judging that the “microforests” planted in Bordeaux would in reality be
“ microbushes"
, and recalling the criticized decision of the town hall to increase the property tax by 4.53% in 2023, justified by environmentalists in order to
"deal with the inflationary shock, maintain public services and succeed in the ecological and social transition »
.
In good form, Nicolas Florian also once again recalls the two main subjects on which he believes that the town hall is not up to par: cleanliness and security.
“We need a structural reform on cleanliness and collection in the broad sense
,” he argues.
I don't want to be the local Dati, even if I really like Rachida.
Nicolas Florian, former LR mayor of Bordeaux
As for the creation of an anti-incivility brigade,
“why not, but it has existed since 2015
,” he quips.
On the security issue, Nicolas Florian explains that he would have already signed the integrated security contract - which would await the green light from the Ministry of the Interior according to Pierre Hurmic - and that as mayor, he would have "
armed the municipal police »
and opened more positions.
“They’ve been here for four years but at times it feels like they’ve been arriving yesterday.”
Pierre Hurmic, however, announced that he was going to
“continue the pace”
of recruiting ten municipal police officers per year.
According to the former mayor of Bordeaux,
“we are a city that is sad now and they contribute to the sadness of this city”
.
Beyond the observation, the possibility of a new team at the helm in 2026 seems to be gaining ground.
“It becomes a question of municipal health that there is a new alternation in Bordeaux
,” explains Nicolas Florian, who failed to keep the Palais Rohan in 2020, despite the rallying of the Macronist Thomas Cazenave.
On the hypothesis of a new union between different parties of the right and the center, including the presidential majority, the elected LR argues that
"the more we bring together, the more chances we give ourselves of achieving it"
, all recalling that his political party,
“it’s Bordeaux”
, and that labels do not allow you to win a municipal election, a sort of
“mini-presidential”
election .
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The ambitions for Bordeaux of Thomas Cazenave, appointed Minister for Public Accounts in 2023 and until the resignation of Élisabeth Borne, however, also seem intact.
The Macronist continued to participate in the municipal council after being appointed to Bercy, while making several ministerial trips to Gironde.
On the possibility of a contingency alliance, Nicolas Florian immediately sets things straight:
“I don’t want to be the local Dati, even if I really like Rachida.”
According to this close friend of Valérie Pécresse, loyal to the RPR, then to the UMP and the Republicans,
“this political family still has a place in this country”
.
None of the future candidates have yet officially put on their jersey, but 2026 is on everyone's minds.
According to Nicolas Florian,
“there is already starting to be a battle behind the scenes to know who will do what”
in the current municipal team, but
“this should not be an aggravating factor in municipal inertia”
.
During his wishes on January 18, Pierre Hurmic did indeed mention the 2026 election.
“We are preparing for it, we are very determined and very mobilized.
We are not a parenthesis in the history of Bordeaux.”
If the outcome of the match remains uncertain, one thing is almost certain: Pierre Hurmic and Nicolas Florian are ready to play it again.