“His attitude does not make him look good”: Yvan Lachaud's reaction after Franck Proust's remarks at the Agglo de Nîmes Métropole

Yvan Lachaud : “Je peux regarder les Nîmois dans les yeux.” Midi Libre – MiKAEL ANISSET

Attaqué en conseil d’Agglo lundi 23 septembre, Yvan Lachaud réagit dans nos colonnes. Et dit ne pas regretter d’avoir dénoncé la gestion de la Senim.

On September 12, Franck Proust, president of Nîmes Métropole, was acquitted in the so-called Senim affair. On several occasions, he spoke of his relief, his suffering throughout the period and attacked Yvan Lachaud, his predecessor at the Agglo, who had denounced the affair. Following a particularly scathing speech on Monday evening, at a public meeting of the Nîmes Métropole council, the latter wishes to react.

You wished to react to Franck Proust's remarks against you during the community council on Monday.

I want to go back to the facts, which date back to 2007, when in the municipal council I was obliged to report dysfunctions and non-compliant management in the activity report of the Senim. At the time, I was deputy for finance. My services had alerted me to these dysfunctions and I had contacted a specialist in the field who told me that if I did not denounce this, I could, as the person responsible for the deliberation, be called into question. This concerned calls for tender and land sales. I had also previously warned the municipality, during the municipal seminar and no one had forbidden me to say it, including Jean-Paul Fournier. I had an obligation to denounce it, to vote against this deliberation and to refer the matter to the regional audit office. Following this, the CRC referred the matter to the public prosecutor who opened an investigation.

Mr. Proust considers that you have slandered him…

Mr. Proust should instead attack the three prosecutors who followed one another, since the first opened an investigation and the third requested a referral to the correctional court. He should attack the investigating judge who ordered the referral. Then, the attorney general and the advisers at the court of appeal who had previously convicted him (before the court of cassation overturned the judgment and referred it to the Montpellier court of appeal, editor's note). I never intervened. I never attacked him personally.

Knowing the final decision, if you had to do it again, you would do it again?

Yes. I can look the people of Nîmes in the eye. He says that for nearly 20 years he suffered from this. That didn't stop him from being a European deputy, first deputy and president of Agglo. Then, he attacks the Christian side of things… But that's personal! We were talking about public affairs. Already in the interview published in Midi Libre last Friday, people had been shocked by his remarks. Not necessarily Christians: Jews too, Muslims, who told me that I had to react. I think that by wanting to do harm, Mr. Proust is harming himself.

Are you considering filing a complaint?

If he continues, yes. But I don't want to respond to harm with harm. His attitude doesn't make him look good.