François Rebsamen will no longer be mayor of Dijon in a few days. He announced in a press release that he had “decided to pass on his position” to his first assistant, Nathalie Koenders, after 23 years at the head of the town hall of the city of the Dukes of Burgundy.
A press release a week before his departure
This announcement comes this Monday, November 18, just one week before the next municipal council during which François Rebsamen intends to propose this transfer of power to Dijon elected officials. But if he leaves the post of mayor, the elected official does not necessarily withdraw from politics since he specifies in the same press release that he will remain president of Dijon Métropole.
“A carefully considered choice”
“In politics. There is a time to unite, a time to act and a time to transmit. Today, when I look at the action accomplished, I consider that the time has come for me to transmit. It is a carefully considered, responsible and assumed choice, to make democracy breathe, and allow new talents to express themselves.” writes François Hollande's former labor minister.
“If the municipal council decides so, she will become the first female mayor of Dijon and will continue the metamorphosis of our city, ensuring the continuity of current action while bringing her own vision and sensitivity.” adds François Rebsamen.
“A final betrayal of the Dijonnais” for opponent Emmanuel Bichot
However, at the municipal council level, this brutal announcement is not unanimous. The president of the “Agir pour Dijon” group responded with another press release in which he denounced “a final betrayal of the Dijon people”.
“François Rebsamen has once again reneged on one of his promises and betrayed the voters of Dijon. By declaring himself a candidate for a fourth term in January 2020, he assured that he intended to take it to the end” recalls Emmanuel Bichot. “He is attempting a final maneuver to try to save this threatened majority and secure its rear” continues the elected official of the opposition who also believes that whoever replaces François Rebsamen for the end of the mandate “will not have the legitimacy of the popular vote and will remain its puppet.”
Everything except a surprise for Laurent Bourguignat
For Dijon elected official LR Laurent Bourguignat, this announcement “surprise” is not one of them. He believes that this choice has been in the works for years with a first deputy with extensive powers. “We kind of saw it coming. We had it in Longvic, we have it today in Dijon. I think it would be healthier to renew the women, the men, the teams, the projects at time of the elections, that is to say in March 2026. In any case, it smells like a politician, it would have been simpler, more correct, more elegant and above all more transparent towards the people of Dijon to organize or attempt to organize the succession in March 2026. That's how it is anyway. The first deputy, for years, has benefited from extraordinary treatment, with exceptional communication and exorbitant prerogatives. She was first deputy, but she pretty much took charge and everything. She was already more or less 'mayor again'. It was part of this feeling of unease and feeling of political coup to prepare and ensure the succession. explains the chosen one.
