At the end of this term, in 2033, Frédéric Sanchez and Nicolas Lacombe will celebrate the 40 years of their political adventure in Nérac. From the first leaflets of the Socialist Party to the conquest of the mayor’s office, they reflect on this period that has shaped their friendship.
If today, Nicolas Lacombe and Frédéric Sanchez consider themselves best friends, it wasn’t always the case. “We crossed paths in our high school years, but there was no particular chemistry,” chuckles mischievously, the mayor of Nérac. He adds, in front of his companion’s big smile: “we found each other quite stupid actually. We were not friends at all.”
However, in November 1993, at 18 years old, they found themselves in front of the door of the Socialist Party in Agen. “After the terrible defeat of the legislative elections that led to the 2nd cohabitation.” Frédéric Sanchez recalls his surprise: “but he’s left-wing, isn’t he? He must have thought the same of me.” Being the only two from Nérac, they quickly broke the ice and never parted ways.
Even so, the anecdotes continue. “Our first activist act was to distribute anti-McDonald’s leaflets outside the one in Pin in Agen. We met the boss but refused his burgers, no way we were going to succumb to capitalism’s assaults and attempts at corruption! And in 2016, as elected officials, we were invited to a breakfast for the opening of the one in Nérac. And guess who was the boss.”
In the midst of laughter and anecdotes, Nicolas Lacombe and Frédéric Sanchez reminisce, sometimes with a hint of nostalgia, about those 90s “that were the foundation of what we managed to build here in Nérac, and of this fourth election victory.” A quest for power that became an initiatory path for these two friends who were infected with the political virus. A family legacy for the former chief of staff of Alain Veyret, who remembers “Mitterrand’s victory in ’81 or Garbay’s defeat against Brunet in Nérac in ’83 as seen from my parents’ perspective.” The vice-president of the departmental council recalls his elementary school teacher’s classes or Hubert Delpont, whom he joined on his list as early as 1995, at only 20 years old.
Following the municipal defeat, Hubert Delpont and Jacques Vital, the head of the PS in Nérac, made way for the two young activists. “Here, we were clearly in a municipal conquest,” they recall. “It was done in several stages. First, to take over the Nérac section, which had about forty militants. Political conquest could only be achieved within the party. So, we took over the section. It was a fight… The most terrible ones! It was the best training. We were 22-23 years old, but we had a sense of rhetoric. It fueled the debates. And we liked it. Conquest is almost the best moment in the end.”
During this time, Lacombe and Sanchez revived the PS Info Nérac publications, the information bulletin of the section. “It was our means of communication,” explains the former. “Our WhatsApp or Facebook back then. We wrote articles on national or local news. The first ones to the typewriter! Everything was printed at the headquarters in Agen, then we gathered for a big evening at my parents’ place to fold 4,300 copies, which we distributed by mail three times a year. It cost 1,000 francs to the section. Today, it would be 3,000-4,000 euros. Different times as well.”
Convinced and determined, the two young socialists invested 100% in their project: to be elected to the mayor’s office. “We took it as a job. With seriousness and method.” In 2001, Nicolas Lacombe led the socialist list where Frédéric Sanchez joined, with Ana-Paula Bes (Marc Gelly would join the group in 2004). The division on the left led to a new defeat. But it laid the groundwork for the victory in 2008. “We never fought with the PC. The young members of both parties understood that they had to work together to win the city.”
Leading Nérac, the duo perfectly complemented each other. Lacombe naturally mayor, and Sanchez naturally in support. “I’m more comfortable in the background. Participating in local life yes, leading no. I’m not made for that.” The role of first deputy fell to Patrice Dufau, a future close comrade.
A group of loyal friends that Nicolas Lacombe particularly praises. “Everything has always been very healthy between us. I don’t arrive at the town hall in the morning wondering if someone is going to stab me in the back.” “We are loyal and tell each other everything. We have a positive communication style. When we feel something, we express it very quickly. We argued seriously more than once!”
However, there was no disagreement when leaving the Socialist Party in 2017. “We felt, at the end of the 2000s, that the party was starting to stagnate, it was becoming toxic. We no longer identified with the party’s internal wars. We took much more pleasure in managing the municipality, leading projects for Nérac.”
Although the rose has withered, the friendship remains intact. And it will continue to be written for seven years in the municipal council despite Frédéric Sanchez’s stepping back, who became a simple delegated councilor. With the secret hope of achieving a new victory? “Since 1993, when we were broke young activists, we play the same lottery numbers every year. But we still haven’t won a cent.”
