He who tries nothing, achieves nothing, says a popular proverb. The next Nîmes municipal elections, in 2026, could prove it once again. Last week, the boss of Renaissance in Gard, Valérie Rouverand, announced her candidacy with panache and not without a certain audacity. “ A campaign in Nîmes costs around 150,000 balls and you have to find 59 names », recalls a source experienced in electoral campaigns. And Valérie Rouverand, still unknown a few years ago, is far from being the favorite. But 14 months before the election, Jean-Paul Fournier's former education assistant is taking her courage in both hands to turn the table. If she wants to win in a city where the Right has reigned for 23 years, she will have to form an alliance. With whom ? On the Right, there is definitely a possibility… Julien Plantier! The first deputy of the city of Nîmes, in competition with the president of Nîmes métropole, Franck Proust, also aims to succeed the outgoing mayor, Jean-Paul Fournier. And like Valérie Rouverand, the thirty-year-old does not necessarily start out a winner. But by showing audacity, he could find salvation by allying himself with Valérie Rouverand. This man-woman pair, in keeping with the times, from a moderate Right, would embody renewal and could worry Franck Proust who, according to certain rumors, thinks he can win alone. But will Julien Plantier be bold enough? Will he take the risk of losing all his mandates (first deputy, departmental advisor, president of SPL Agate, etc.)? Risk…
