the discovery of a new perspective

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February 2015, in a restaurant in Copenhagen (Denmark). As part of a commission of inquiry, Eric Ciotti et Geneviève Gosselin-Fleury are housed at the embassy. François Zimeraythe host, leans towards the MP for Manche after learning that she was Bernard Cazeneuve's deputy. He goes to confession. It was he, with others, who did the trick: sending Bernard Cazeneuve to Octeville, where it was a disaster.

Discovery of Cherbourg socialism

“We sold it to him by telling him: you will see, Octeville, it is a charming little fishing port ».

The first day, Bernard Cazeneuve asked to be taken to the meeting place, at La Butte. He understood quickly. Each meter brought him closer to the heights rather than the sea. One day, he would learn to love these sad days when the sky seems to be crushed, these cold autumn mornings. And spring evenings on the port, like rainbows to conquer. He would one day find literary significance in this territory, a place to write his story, barely thirty years old.

He had “grown up” in the ministries. The moment to throw yourself into the broth of local politics had come.

“I had heard about it from friends in Octeville, notably Guy Savary. It didn't pose a problem for me, unlike others. Anyway, no one ever asked me for my opinion! I invited him, he explained his vision to me. He had the intelligence not to arrive as a savior, but with a desire to integrate. A few years earlier, there had been Olivier Stirn. It was different. He, at the start, had been imposed on us. »

Before coming, Cazeneuve spoke with Forehead. Cherbourg, its station, its silence, its mysterious secrets, it was another challenge, a taste for adventure. Exist and serve where you least expect it. The rest would come.

In the age of complexity, virtue would not exist without humility. Nothing makes you laugh more than a parachute landing. At first, he clashes. Until the day it seems like he's always been here. “It took him a while to realize that Cherbourg socialism came from the arsenalindicates Jean-Pierre Godefroy. The arsenal was a culture. When I was a kid, my father only dreamed of one thing: for me to pass the entrance exam for Navy apprentices. I wanted to be a teacher, he never wanted to. The municipal elected officials of Équeurdreville and Tourlaville, more than half were guys from the arsenal. »

Pacifier

Initially, he was at La Postellerie de Bas. It was either mist or fleet. In Octeville, a few years earlier, there had been the War of the Roses. The right had won the municipal elections on the divisions of the left.

“Gabriel Soria, the former PS mayor, was challenged because he was too authoritarian. He took his positions, alone. Not necessarily bad either, but without any consultation. A number of people who had worked with him no longer wanted to hear about it. »

It’s the story of “a very good guy” who had alienated part of the associative world.

In the background, there was a fairly silent rivalry between the Mitterrandiens and the Rocardiens in the federation. Some had somewhat privileged relations with Fabius at that time. He suggested that Bernard Cazeneuve come to Octeville.

Bernard Cazeneuve went to meet everyone, he being “neutral” in relation to the past. Behind him, Guy Savary, the Loisel family, Georges Jourdam or Jean-Claude Magalhaes slip quickly into the steps. Before him, no one could emerge to gather. It was one side or the other.

Gather

“He had the intelligence to not to make enemies of those who were the opponentsrecalls André Rouxel. He had a natural aura, and remade the union. »

The other elected officials observed him, a bit like a UFO. Very quickly, we realized that he had another dimension.

Bernard Cazeneuve is not someone who will disguise himself to please, nor someone who is suspected of playing a role. Never, until his accession to Matignon, did he leave the fundamentals which already accompanied him when he arrived at Octeville. A lot of work, a sense of others, easy contact. And a form of respect for the adversary, when the latter reciprocated.

When there were section meetings, he came specially from Paris to attend them. For a while he said nothing. It was very curious. It lasted maybe a year. He saw who he could count on, not count on. It didn't come alone. He had everyone on his back at the start. He is not a clansman, even if he likes to have his own people. He put up with certain people, and quickly made his place.

“He’s smart, he knows how to do it”

A little earlier, in 1993, the PS prepared the legislative elections.

“When we made the nomination for the legislative elections, it was in Équeurdreville. There was a debate in the small room of the Jean-Jaures complex. Cazeneuve had taken his PS card locally. Bernard ran against Cauvin. He's smart. He knows how to do it. When you listened to his presentation, there was no reason why he shouldn't be there. »

Between the two, a sometimes contrasting relationship will be born that day, which will be calmed by time and loyalty to the territory.

“I have never really understood those who, over time, regularly opposed us. Our story is not that of iron pot against iron pot. Of course, we didn't agree on everything, that's normal. I was a little wary at first. 1993, I assumed I would go, knowing it would be difficult. But then, we never ran for the same mandates. I had toured the country. Locally, I think we worked well together. »

A Goscinny-style balance

In the evening, Michel Louiset invites Cazeneuve to have a drink at home. André Rouxel is there too. Their first meeting. “They had a bit of a shouting match because we didn't vote for him! », laughs Michel Louiset.

A man of measurement, he never says too much. The panorama is taking shape.

“There was a kind of Goscinny-style balance. There was the Gallic chief, from the majority tribe of the arsenal, who was Jean-Pierre Godefroy. There was Bernard Cazeneuve, who was seen as a bit like the Roman general. The one who comes to fight and with whom we are extremely demanding. And then the third, Bernard Cauvin, was the druid who told you that the future is over there, towards the sea, the earthly paradise… The three characters lived together. They were very complementary to each other. »

A day, Erik Orsenahis friend, wrote about the naivety of early mornings and the lucidity of high winds. One would never work without the other. Such was the conquest in Cotentin.

An era could dawn.

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