Agde/Pézenas: an election for the presidency of the Agglo may not be so peaceful

Vendredi dernier au Cap, l’entente cordiale semblait primer. Mais les choses se dessinent autrement. MIDI LIBRE – MICHEL DESNOS

Armand Rivière, maire de Pézenas, aurait des velléités de prendre la tête de la collectivité, après la démission de tous ses mandats de Gilles D'Ettore, la semaine dernière. L’élection aura lieu lundi 10 juin, à Bessan.

Visibly the declaration of the mayor of Pézenas Armand Rivière, last Friday during the inauguration of the reception of the tourist office and the annexed town hall of Cap d’Agde – "there will be new pages to write together, collectively and in the general interest of the territory" –, could be interpreted in several ways.

She was implicitly referring to the resignation of his mandates as mayor of Agde and president of the Hérault Méditerranée agglomeration of Gilles D’Ettore, but also to the inevitable election of a new president which will follow, Monday June 10 at 6 p.m., in Bessan.

A lunch between Frey and Rivière last Monday

While one might have thought – we were the first, that was the meaning of our article of June 2nd – that the socialist mayor of Pézenas would have lined up behind the candidacy of Sébastien Frey, who will probably be elected mayor by the municipal council of Agde this Friday (read below), it may not be the case . According to our information, during a lunch between the two men organized at the beginning of the week, Armand Rivière would have informed the departmental councilor of the canton of Agde of his desire to also run for the seat as president of an agglomeration. Which he has every right of course, but which still goes against arithmetic logic, when we know that the only central city, Agde, can rely on 17 seats (out of 58 ), including three for the opposition, compared to only six for Pézenas, including one for the opposition, represented by former mayor Alain Vogel Singer.

Real revolt or political posture ?

Contacted on Tuesday evening, Armand Rivière did not wish to tell us more on the subject, in particular on the underlying reasons which push him to consider running for the presidency of the agglomeration next week. Does he want to stand out in relation to the legal affair which affects Gilles D’Ettore, even if the latter has resigned from all of his elective mandates, and possible consequences ? Does he simply on a political posture, when he knows the city of Agde is likely to fall into the hands of the National Rally in 2026 ? Is he leading a revolt of several mayors from the north of the territory that Sébastien Frey and his team would have underestimated ? Impossible to say today, as long as the person concerned has not officially taken a position.

Vice-presidency of the Agglo, Sictom…

We know that Sébastien Frey and Armand Rivière could meet again this week, before the election next Monday. President of Sictom Pézenas – Agde, Frey would be ready to leave this position to the mayor of Pézenas, who is also, remember, 1st vice-president of the Agglo to this day. But Rivière is not necessarily the man to let himself be coaxed by some folding seat. And it is his deep conviction that will determine whether he runs for president or not. In any case, it would be quite a political divide in a territory dominated for twenty years by Gilles D’Ettore.

In Agde, the election will take place this Friday, June 7

If the election of the president of the Hérault Méditerranée agglomeration community, Monday June 10 in Bessan, is obviously an important sequence in the political life of the territory, it’ rsquo;it is definitely towards Agde that all eyes will be turned on Friday June 7.

And more precisely towards the town hall, where the municipal council will meet to elect a new mayor. Election in which Sébastien Frey is obviously the favorite, even if it will be interesting to observe if the majority will vote as one man or if defections towards the two other candidates, namely Thierry Nadal (Agde just, green , sure) and Fabienne Varesano (Rassemblement agathois) are possible. The resignation of Gilles D’Ettore actually leads to the arrival within the council of a new face from the list of the Agathoise Union, Vanessa Moreno.

I subscribe to read more