the essential
It’s a little bomb that Gérard Trémège has just dropped during the meeting of his association Tarbes 2020: he will not be mayor of Tarbes in 2026, Michel Garnier, his chief of staff, is more than anticipated as a candidate for his estate.
Everyone knew it was going to happen, the only question was when. Gérard Trémège, after almost a quarter of a century in office, announced his intention to “step back”. He will not lead the next list of the current municipal majority, and will not seek a 5th term as mayor. A decision taken a few months ago, and considered for a long time. To succeed him, two contenders seemed to be in the running, Pascal Claverie, his first deputy, and Romain Giral, the president of LR 65, a loyalist for years. “I brought them together, and I asked them to agree to leave together, and not to make divisions. And I told them that if this was not the case, I would push for a third man. Maybe they didn’t believe me… As they didn’t manage to agree, each wanting to be mayor and take the other as 1st deputy, so I applied what I had promised…”
And the third man in question is Michel Garnier, his faithful chief of staff, who will be responsible for leading the future list for the next municipal elections, and who is therefore in “pole position”, in the event of victory, to be the future mayor of Tarbes. “I think it’s a good choice,” adds Gérard Trémège, on the eve of the official announcement, “I have been mayor for a quarter of a century, it is time to hand over the reins. But it is also a way to ensure a certain continuity in the action carried out since 2001, and Michel Garnier knows all the files.”
However, Gérard Trémège is not retiring from political life, since he should be in 3rd position on the list. He will therefore still have an important role, and seems to want to retain his mandate as president of the TLP agglomeration…
