“A municipal council to repair the wheel of a lawnmower”: in Bouzigues, a mayor dispossessed of power by his former majority

Cédric Raja en position de plus en plus inconfortable. – Archive P. M.

Le conseil a mis fin à certaines délégations de Cédric Raja. Son fauteuil de maire a des allures de coquille vide.

Bouzigues, your ruthless universe! The political soap opera continues in the oyster city. We knew that the former majority of the mayor, Cédric Raja, had turned against him, placing him in the minority in his own council. The budget vote was prevented, forcing the prefect to make it enforceable at the end of May, on the advice of the Regional Court of Auditors.

Politically, that was already a lot for the town of 1,600 inhabitants. Well, now the municipal council, meeting in session on August 20, has put an end to certain delegations granted to the mayor under Article L2122-22 of the General Code of Communities. By ten votes to six, Cédric Raja was stripped of about twenty skills. Checkmate!

These prerogatives "were not exercised with respect for the general interest, nor in order to execute the program for which the majority was elected in March 2020, not to mention the total absence of consultation and consultation", summarizes part of the new opposition (or ex-majority, depending on your point of view).

In the minority and deprived of pre-empting, borrowing, requesting subsidies…

In concrete terms, Cédric Raja can no longer carry out all acts of delimitation of communal properties. He is prohibited from making loans intended to finance investments planned by the budget. He is prevented from making any decisions concerning the preparation and execution of contracts and framework agreements. He will no longer exercise the pre-emption rights defined by the Urban Planning Code and will no longer have the right to bring actions or defend the commune before the administrative and judicial courts… He no longer even has the power to request the allocation of subsidies for any communal action.

In short, Cédric Raja's chair looks, neither more nor less, than an empty shell. “We wanted to go back to basics, justifies Pierre Bras, second deputy who went “to the other side” since the mayor was elected in 2020. The principle of local democracy is not that the mayor has the power, but that the council has the power. It is planned that powers are delegated to the mayor. However, for too long, he has taken action without consulting us. We are simply reminding the institutions. We are protecting the municipality against decisions taken haphazardly."

Cédric Raja: “They take away my pen to sign checks”

“I regret that the life of a village of 1,600 inhabitants is being politicized in this way. In December, with the unvoted budget, my checkbook was taken away. The prefect gave it back to me. Now, my pen is being taken away to sign checks. I am being blocked so that I do not implement the projects. But it is the administration that will find itself paralyzed, it is unfair for the people who work in the services. Nobody understands. I do not see where the general interest lies with such actions. Imagine: I'm going to have to call a council meeting for a simple flat tire on a lawnmower, buy toilet paper or a ream of paper… Because every euro spent is a public order! For them, power is deciding whether to repair the wheel of a lawnmower. But the mayor is the sole head of the administration, urban planning, the police and justice. The municipal council doesn't exercise that. They would like me to be a ventriloquist. But it won't happen like that.”

“I am being pushed to resign, there is a cabal after me. I offered to resign, and them with me, to provoke elections and vote again. They refused. At the same time, should we really leave this kind of person in office ?
I wanted to be of service, to make great projects for my village. My mistake was to let landowners into my team. I was betrayed, just like the Bouzigauds, thinking that they were not there for their personal interests. Except that when it was necessary to say no, I said no. I didn't say yes to buy peace."

"The council will decide, the mayor will execute"

From now on, "the council will make decisions and the mayor will execute", defends the opposition, even if it means sometimes flirting with overbidding. "The mayor must be seen as an administrator, who handles current affairs, who distributes tasks, supports Pierre Bras, kept in his functions as deputy on June 26, while the mayor had asked that this function be removed from him… We want to protect the village against inaction, to decide on choices transparently, for markets, projects, urban planning… We want to return to a discussion between elected officials."

Fearing being seen "as irresponsible" indulging in personal score-settling, opponents assure that they all exercise "positions of responsibility" in their private lives. "We know how the law works, Pierre Bras emphasizes. Concretely, we will sign contracts, we will renovate, we will launch projects. In 18 months, there are still things to do." To the point of forcing Cédric Raja to resign ? "That is not the objective", refutes Pierre Bras.

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