after the censorship of the Barnier government, this interim senator is preparing to become mayor again

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Her fate is linked to that of Sophie PrimasMinister Delegate in charge of Foreign Trade and French people abroad in the Barnier government. Éric Dumoulin, promoted to senator of Yvelines in September and resigned from his post as mayor of Chatou, is considering all options after the motion of censure which overthrew the Prime Minister and his team on December 4, 2024.

What are your plans after the motion of censure which brought down the Barnier government?

If Sophie Primas is reappointed, I will stay in the Senate. Otherwise, I have roughly a one month waiting periodwhich puts us at the beginning of January. And there, as planned, I will ask the municipal council for its confidence in becoming mayor of Chatou again. I will also, a priori, be a candidate to also take over the presidency of the Intercommunal Union for the Treatment of Urban Waste (Sitru), which I had also let go. On the other hand, I will not be able to find the vice presidency of the departmental council in charge of Finance, from which I had chosen to resign, in favor of Chatou, to be able to become a senator. I remain very humble and very modest about all that. My destiny, with a small “d”, depends on that, with a slightly larger “d”, of Sophie Primas.

What do you keep from your short experience as senator?

The Senate is an extremely serious chamber where we work. People sometimes have the image of paunchy senators, vaguely asleep in their seats after a good lunch. That's not it at all. Everyone has their characteristics, their beliefs, but senators are people who have a lot of respect towards their colleagues, including the opposition. There is no invective unlike what happens in the National Assembly. There's a bit of commotion in the chamber, but that has nothing to do with it, it remains extremely courteous, respectful, and particularly during committee work, which is the most important work.

Have you found any big differences with your mandate as mayor?

It's totally different from managing a community, whatever it may be. That's the first point. They are not the same codes. They are not the same operations. You go from an extremely operational mode with more or less big problems or micro problems to manage all day long to a more reflective dimension, of background work. It's really a fairly strong change of perspective which can appear relatively disconcerting at first. And besides, all the senators I spoke with, who came either from a town hall or from the presidency of a departmental council, all said that this passage struck them.

How do you view your return to the mayor's chair, occupied since October 28, 2024 by your former first deputy, Michèle Grellier?

It's going to go well, first of all because things were very clear from the start. I think it's important. Michèle, beyond being mayor today and having been first deputy, she is truly a friend of twenty years. A true friend! This is not a political friendship. She knew, as I did, that we were both temporary workers. It was very clear to both of us, it was very clear to the Catovians, it was very clear internally, within the team. Michèle will take her place and all her place. I will ask the city council to re-elect me mayor as planned.

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