Julien Sanchez, ten years at Beaucaire town hall between construction sites and controversies

Le conseil municipal de Beaucaire en 2019, quand le directeur de cabinet Yoann GIllet n'est pas encore député. Midi Libre – FRED GAUTIER

Elu maire en 2014 dans une quadrangulaire, il l'emporte au premier tour en 2020.

Ten years. Julien Sanchez will have worn the mayor's sash of Beaucaire for ten years if, as he announced this Wednesday, May 1, he is elected on Jordan Bardella's list to the European Parliament on May 9 ;next June and required to hand in his mandate. The Gardois is in 17th place, a priori eligible if the National Rally has the scores currently given to it by opinion polls.

In 2014, Julien Sanchez was just 31 years old when he won the municipal election of Beaucaire, beating the incumbent Jacques Bourbousson in a quadrangular with a score of 39.8% of the vote. Of Alesian origin, he comes from a pied-noir family, marked on the left. For his part, he joined the National Front at a very young age, and was spotted by Alain Jamet and his daughter France during the 2002 legislative campaign.

President of the group in the Region

He will be an assistant to the FN group at the Montpellier regional council before leaving for that of Ile-de-France alongside Marine Le Pen, then managing the party's internet strategy for seven years when Jean-Marie Le Pen is in charge. At the same time, he was elected regional councilor for Languedoc-Roussillon in 2010 on the France Jamet list. In 2015, this time at the Occitanie level, he was again elected regional councilor and chaired the RN group.

In Nîmes, he was present in all the elections, cantonal in 2011, then legislative in 2012 before settling in Beaucaire to run for the municipal elections in 2014. This first mandate saw him accompanied by his faithful chief of staff and friend Yoann Gillet, who has since become a deputy in 2022 (with Julien Sanchez as deputy). The duo eclipses the rest of the municipal team. He also recruited Damien Rieu, spokesperson for the Génération Identitaire movement, who would only have a short stint (the movement has since been dissolved).

In its viewfinder: the State, Macron, the Region…

As an expert in social networks, the young mayor communicates at all costs, has thousands of subscribers on X (formerly Twitter), publishes short videos and handles provocation with a certain relish. In his sights, the State often (its slowness in bringing the fishermen's island file to fruition in particular), President Macron and his successive governments (national politics often invites itself to the municipal council of Beaucaire) or even Carole Delga, the president of the Region with whom he clashes in court (he is then defended by Nîmes lawyer Sylvie Josserand, 26th on the list). Under his two mandates, costs linked to litigation exploded.

Christmas nativity scene in town hall: it persists

Condemned by the courts on several occasions, he persisted in setting up a Christmas nativity scene with his Provence figurines in the grounds of the town hall. He was also condemned in his decision to offer pork in school canteens without offering a substitute menu. Other shocking actions allow him to create a buzz, such as naming a street in Beaucaire “rue du Brexit”, or renaming that of March 19. Defender of bullfighting traditions, he also attends all association meetings, particularly with seniors. Its major achievements remain the rehabilitation of the SNCF station, the emergence of the Sud Canal district, the rehabilitation and extension of the nautical base, and the renovation of the Garrigues-Planes school.< /p>

With a fragmented opposition, Julien Sanchez plays on velvet. In 2020, he was re-elected in the first round with 59.5% of the vote. Nationally, he remains spokesperson for the FN then the RN between 2017 and 2022, then since November 2022 he has been vice-president of the party, in charge of elected officials. In September, he brought the party's backbenchers for the RN summer university to his commune.

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