Seven candidates, including the incumbent mayor, are in the running for the mayor of Levallois-Perret (Hauts-de-Seine). All are trying to find the right formula to convince the voters after 30 years of Patrick Balkany’s rule.
Moving forward from Patrick Balkany’s three decades in power, where he transformed the once working-class town into a chic city while accumulating a massive debt of 260 million euros. The mayor was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for hiding around 13 million euros from the tax authorities between 2007 and 2014. But can there be political life without him in Levallois?
Supported by the Socialist Party, the French Communist Party, and Europe Ecology – The Greens, Baptiste Nouguier could reach the second round, a first for the left since 2008. He aims to highlight solidarity measures: “There are 6,000 Levallois residents living below the poverty line. Currently, not much is being done to help them by the municipal majority.”
The left-wing candidate particularly wants to open a solidarity grocery store. “It helps people in difficulty, who struggle to make ends meet. These are pensioners, students, and single-parent families, too.”
The left had previously supported Lies Messatfa in 2020, who had received 21% of the votes in the second round. Now, backed by Renaissance, the municipal councilor and candidate for the Radical Party denounces the financial abuses of the incumbent mayor. He plans to reinvest the money in security. “During this term, we lost 15% of the police force. My ambition is to have one police officer for every 1,000 residents in Levallois.”
Lies Messatfa aims to increase the number of video surveillance cameras from 100 to 320. “To avoid additional costs and construction work, we will connect the cameras to 5G so that all of Levallois is secure and protected,” he assured during an interview.
Despite a decrease in crime rates, security remains a priority for the Balkany Generations list. Represented by Mounia Inoughi, a newcomer to politics who was chosen by Patrick Balkany, the list focuses on establishing a municipal police branch in the northwestern region of Levallois, where people feel neglected. This branch will operate 24/7.
Mounia Inoughi also plans to “work with our neighbors. So, the police from the 17th arrondissement, the police from Clichy, to ensure our borders are secure.”
The Balkany Generations list may challenge the incumbent mayor, who is at odds with her former mentor. Agnès Pottier-Dumas, candidate of The Republicans, emphasizes her efforts to stabilize public finances: “Despite new loans that allowed us to fund new projects, our debt stock will have decreased by 40 million euros during this term. We commit to not increasing taxes, as we had done in the previous term.”
The outgoing mayor also mentions “several major projects that need to materialize. We are completing the Anatole-France school, which is a significant project for the city of Levallois. 40 million euros have been mobilized […] We also have plans for a new gymnasium.”
Three more candidates have also declared their candidacy: Geoffroy Rondepierre supported by Reconquest, Alain Uzan leading the dissidents of Balkany Generations, and Patricia Parisis without any party affiliation.
According to a report by Gaëlle Darengosse and Marion Lompageu for Ici Paris-Île-de-France.
