For a few days now, rumors have been circulating above the counter of the “Grand Café”, in the city center of Felletin. It is now official: the mayor of the commune of Creuse, Renée Nicoux, has decided to resign from office. This Tuesday morning, September 17, his announcement is once again the main topic of conversation among the residents inside the café.
“I was shocked, I was very surprised,” confides Anne-Marie, seated in a corner. The woman who has lived in the town for about ten years received the information in an email from the town hall. “I asked myself what happened, and why this decision”she says. Anne-Marie is especially worried about knowing who will succeed Renée Nicoux.
First Deputy Mayor as New Mayor
Françoise, who sits opposite her, is a little more informed. “I have some ideas, slides the pensioner, I think of Olivier Cagnon”. The current first deputy confirms that he is a candidate and the resigning mayor explains that the transition has been planned since the beginning of the mandate, four years ago. “I voted for this list, and I voted for a team more than for a person, so it suits me“, reacts Françoise.
At the next table, Marie says she knows Olivier Cagnon well, who is also the creator of the recycling center. “I think it’s great, it brings an ecological dimension, it’s calm, it thinks. I trust it.”insists the resident who even sent him a message to ask him if he was ready to take over. “He told me he was ready.”she smiled.
Silencing the rumors
In her office at the town hall, Renée Nicoux said she announced her resignation now precisely to avoid the rumors that began to circulate. “People said I was sick, that I had family problems, that things were going badly in the municipal council. But on the contrary, it is because everything is going well that I can pass the torch to my first deputy.”explains the resigning elected official.
Upon her election in 2020, Renée Nicoux said she had accepted to be mayor but had already planned to hand over the reins during her term. An election should take place in the coming weeks to confirm who will be the new mayor of Felletin. “The interest is also to ensure that the mayor can continue after 2026 (date of the next municipal elections)and present himself as an incumbent elected official”adds Renée Nicoux.
