Before even starting the agenda, already loaded with the Budget Orientation Debate (DOB), tensions came to light between Mayor Axel Dugua, his opposition, and his former allies who have resigned. An evening which illustrates the growing fractures within the municipal executive.
An advice that starts under tension
From the opening of the session, Axel Dugua set the tone by attacking behavior that he described as “petty”. If the assembly initially struggles to understand who the reprimand is addressed to, the mayor quickly clarifies his target: Isabelle Surply, far-right elected official. “I am neither your friend, nor your employee, nor your stooge,” he attacks, referring to “gifts” that he says he received from the opponent.
Dramatic twist: under the amazed eyes of elected officials and the public, the mayor’s chief of staff crosses the room to give Isabelle Surply… a large lollipop and a bottle of Jack Daniel’s whiskey. A gesture that the mayor describes as a response to “schoolboy jokes”. The far-right elected official, visibly satisfied, replies ironically: “I think we couldn’t have done better. I will talk a little later about the consumption of strong alcohol in your office,” she promises before having the microphone cut off by the mayor, who reminds her of the rules.
The episode made Jean Minnaert, elected environmentalist, jump: “We could have done without this childishness and this publicity given to the extreme right,” he lamented.
Resignations are piling up: a majority in crisis
Beyond the tense exchanges, it is the internal climate of the majority which fuels the divisions. Two new resignations in the ranks of Axel Dugua’s elected officials – those of Michelle Duvernay and Stéphanie Calaciura – have been made official in recent weeks, after that of Jean-Luc Degraix this summer. These departures reflect a growing divide in the municipal majority.
Michelle Duvernay, now in opposition, spoke to explain her departure: “I no longer have the feeling of being part of a team and I am deeply affected by it. I am of little or no use,” she confided, regretting having been left out of events related to her housing delegation.
A unanimous response from the majority
The members of the executive were quick to respond to the criticisms of their former colleagues, multiplying the barbs against the new opposition group. Régis Cadegros, first deputy, denounced a rapprochement with “certain people who are now our opponents”. Alexandre Cigna, elected in charge of the commemorations, expressed his disappointment: “I am sad and disappointed to see you messing around with former adversaries who have put obstacles in our way since 2008.”
For Bruno Changeat, deputy for sustainable development, the recent resignations have a strategic aim: “We can see that this justifies the creation of a list for 2026 which is based on resentment,” he believes, while reproaching Michelle Duvernay for leaving office without exchanging a word with the mayor.
Francis Ngoh-Ngando, another member of the majority, described the situation as “heartbreak”, echoing similar divisions experienced in 2008.
Towards a reshuffle or a political recomposition?
This last municipal council of the year gives a glimpse of a year 2025 under high tension in Saint-Chamond. While internal dissensions weaken Axel Dugua’s majority, recent departures already seem to foreshadow the preparation for the municipal elections of 2026, with the emergence of a new determined opposition.
If Tuesday evening’s debates were initially supposed to focus on budgetary issues, they above all revealed an increasingly fractured political climate, where personal attacks and electoral calculations take precedence over the concerns of the Saint-Chamonais.
