Being candidate to Angers mayor office, Jean-Luc Rotureau enters in the "first division"

Announcing on September 20th his candidacy to the Angers municipal elections in March 2014, Jean-Luc Rotureau obliges the current mayor, Frédéric Béatse, to a primary inside the left political parties. A few months ago, such an idea was rejected by the Angers members of the Socialist Party, which is the majority of the city council. Doing so, Mr Rotureau has cut the links with the Angers mayor, his team and the Socialist Party. All of them having severely criticized his decision, the now former deputy-mayor - he dismissed from that function the same day - has immediately placed his candidacy under the political label "Left Centre".

Having talked to several political parties of the centre, Cap 21, Rassem-blement citoyen, Modem and Udi, Mr Rotureau said that the idea of that last party - the construction of a half tramway line for lack of resources - "was interesting", even if he didn't detailed where that half part should take place. Doing so, he broke away with ideas of the city council majority about major projects like the new line of tramway but also the future congress centre. Regarding the arrangement of his team, Jean-Luc Rotureau said that one will be "largely renewed" and will integrate persons of "different political parties". In a tribute to the past, he made a reference to the former Angers mayor, Jean Monnier, but not his successor, Jean-Claude Antonini, and the deputy mayor in charge of finances, André Despagnet, by not to the mayor.

If the comments of Angers right and centre to Mr Rotureau's decision were not all critical, the left reactions were on the other hand quite tough. Frédéric Béatse deplores the choice of his former deputy mayor and points out that he tried "relentlessly to build with him a program which matches the inhabitants wishes and that its door is still open" pointing out he was hoping that, in case of defeat, Mr Rotureau would withdraw. Others were less tactful. For the Ecologists, Gilles Mahé "disapproves" and fears that his colleague's choice will "scatter" the supports of the Left. For the Socialist Party spokesperson, Jean-Luc Rotureau "is not any longer united with the left forces [and that] his choice carries heavy consequences". As to Christophe Béchu, the main challenger, he said such a candidacy was "in line with the way Mr Béatse was elected mayor" and mentionned "the values and the involvment" of Jean-Luc Rotureau.