Elected in spite of himself, this mayor of Vendée resigns and provokes a new vote

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Of new elections should take place in the commune of Rives de l'Yon. THE elected officials will be called upon to choose their new delegate mayor for the municipality of Saint-Florent-des-Boisoccupied until then by Gérard Laurenceau. But the latter was deprived of his title by a court decision.

A little reminder of the facts to understand this somewhat crazy story. Following the resignation of the deputy mayor of Saint-Florent in November 2023, the municipal council had to vote again. During the ballot, Christophe Hermouet, mayor of Rives de l'Yon, although he was not a candidate, obtained 14 votes, against 13 for Gérard Laurenceau. But two ballots deemed invalid, because they were incomplete, allowed the Rivayon mayor to place the tricolor scarf around Gérard Laurenceau's neck.

A contested election

The latter saw his title canceled by the Nantes administrative court on April 18. This decision follows an appeal to the Nantes administrative court by the Vendée prefecture. Alerted by the municipal opposition, she requested the cancellation of this election. “We reported on a situation following a vote which clearly elected Christophe Hermouet as deputy mayor of Saint-Florent,” recalls Jean-Louis Batiot, leader of the Rives de l’Yon minority.

Feeling targeted, Gérard Laurenceau does not hesitate to speak of revenge by pointing out the behavior of the leader of the municipal minority. According to him, the opposition elected official “is trying to take revenge by preventing me from carrying out my duties as deputy mayor,” explained Gérard Laurenceau last April. He then decided to counterattack by seizing the Council of State.

This hope vanished on November 18 when the body validated the decision of the administrative court and confirmed the election of Christophe Hermouet as deputy mayor of Saint-Florent.

New vote on December 2

The mayor of Rives de l'Yon, still opposed to the idea of ​​taking on this role, decided to hold a new election.

I refuse to be forced to be delegated mayor and I want to keep our operation with a mayor for the new municipality who manages the heavy files and delegated mayors who have their local role.

The first councilor therefore plans a new ballot “Monday December 2 at 8:30 p.m.”.

For this, he sent, Monday November 25, his resignation letter to the position of delegated mayor of Saint-Florent and ensures that he is in the right. “I apply what the Council of State says, all I have to do is resign and organize new elections”, indicates Christophe Hermouet, very upset against this decision which highlights a “reversal of jurisprudence” of the Council of State which “admits equivocal ballots”.

Save money

The six opposition elected officials, for their part, are not surprised by the “obvious and inevitable” response from the Council of State. And stick to their position, believing that the mayor of Rives de l'Yon must assume his role as delegate mayor. A way to save money according to them “by not spending compensation”, notes Jean-Louis Batiot who reminds “that there is no spirit of revenge or attack on anyone. We just want to see the rules enforced.”

As for the new election, the minority is surprised at such an early date. “If we rely on the General Code of Local Authorities, it is necessary for the delegated mayor to notify the prefect of his resignation and for it to be accepted before launching a new election. So all of this seems a little hasty to me,” concludes Jean-Louis Batiot.

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