The election for the presidency will take place on Tuesday night. What will be the outcome for the people of Sète?
Negotiations have been in full swing this week leading up to the election evening on Tuesday, March 31, for the presidency of Sète Agglopôle Méditerranée. This involves selecting the new president, with the incumbent Loïc Linarès as a candidate, as well as the fifteen vice-presidencies of the community. These positions, which are obviously strategic to have influence within the Agglopôle, are being sought after. Particularly by the elected officials of Sète.
Since Tuesday, March 24, following his election in Sète, Hervé Marquès met with Loïc Linarès. While the elected official from Sète had stated on Monday to Midi Libre that he was ambitious to run for the presidency, a consensus has now been found between the president of the Agglo and the mayor of Sète.
According to our information, Loïc Linarès may be the only candidate to stand, as both men prefer to avoid a power struggle that would favor the incumbent. The position of first vice president would then be held by Hervé Marquès, the mayor of the central city in the area. This sets the stage for a potentially constructive policy between the two elected officials.
In addition, the representation of Sète among the vice-presidencies in the Agglo is expected to continue. The central city could secure other positions, beyond the first vice presidency of Hervé Marquès. According to our information, Blandine Authier and Vincent Sabatier are also candidates to join the executive of Sète Agglopôle Méditerranée. If this were to happen, Sète would have three “VP” positions, following the model of the outgoing mandate.
And what about the left-wing in Sète? Despite the socialist label of Loïc Linarès (whose party supported Laura Seguin’s candidacy in the municipal elections), they could be the big losers in the negotiations. Laura Seguin, Chantal Boller (LFI), and Silvain Pastor (The Ecologists), the three opposition elected officials from Sète set to sit on the Agglo, are unlikely to secure any positions within the executive. This perspective is unsettling for some on the left. Will they risk jeopardizing their votes in favor of Loïc Linarès on Tuesday night?
(*) According to the agreement protocol we accessed, signed between The Ecologists, La France Insoumise, and the French Communist Party to support the “Nouvelles Pages” list led by Laura Seguin, Silvain Pastor, in the event of her victory in the municipal elections in Sète, would have been the candidate from the list for the position of president of Sète Agglo.
