Laurent Gérault spares left candidates and warns that victory goes through the centre

Le candidat centriste aux élections municipales, Laurent Gérault considère que l'actuel président de l'agglomération  Angers Loire Métropole, Jean-Claude Antonini, ainsi que le président du Conseil général, lui aussi candidat aux échéances des 23 et 30 mars, Christophe Béchu, étaient tous deux responsables du déclassement de la ville. Dans cette interview, le candidat centriste ne semble pas en cause deux de ses challengers de gauche, Fréréric Béatse et Jean-Luc Rotureau. 

Laurent Gérault, the centrist candidate to the March 23 et 30 municipal elections, refuses to come out in favour of Jean-Claude Antonini, former Angers mayor and president of the agglomeration community, or Christophe Béchu, president of the General Council of Maine-et-Loire.

According to Mr. Gérault, their "squabble" is at the origin of the "drop of the town" in the compe-tition between Western territories for growth, jobs and fame, he said in the second of the interviews published by the daily Ouest-France during the electoral competition. For Mr. Gérault, that was visible in the Technicolor case in which the two authorities did the opposite of what both they recommended. "While both urged to involve themselves in a hunt in pack at the regional level, they were rather mobilized to fight each other", he deplored.

The candidate, who apparently didn't directly criticize the current Angers mayor,  didn't act differently with Jean-Luc Rotureau, one of his left challengers. He focused his critics towards André Despagnet, current deputy mayor in charge of finances, who choose to support Mr. Rotureau, after having elaborated the budget of Angers city for 2014. "Having planned the capital expenses and the increase of taxes, he coudn't not withdraw. Honestly, that shocked me", a standpoint suggesting that the current mayor was rather betrayed.

Anticipating the second round of the municipal elections, the centrist also pointed out that "nobody will win without the centre", a clear signal to Mr. Béatse and Mr. Rotureau, he never accused, and Mr. Béchu, about his availability to talk with them about the possible conditions of his support.