Blast wave inside the Angers section of the Parti socialiste after the municipal defeat

Le basculement à droite de la ville d'Angers après quelque 37 ans de gouvernance socialiste commence à produire une onde de choc au sein du parti jusque là dominant. La dernière démission d'Anne-Sophie Hocquet de Lajartre, maire socialiste battue à Bouchemaine, fait écho à celle de Jean-Luc Rotureau. De son côté, Frédéric Béatse, ancien maire d'Angers, a publiquement fait état de son amertume au sujet de sa mise à l'écart des candidats déjà annoncés par le secrétaire angevin du Ps pour... 2020. Un autre figure proéminente, le député-maire de Trélazé, Marc Goua, reconnait que des erreurs ont été commises pendant la campagne

Grégory Blanc

The swing of the Angers city from left to right with the defeat of Frédéric Béatse and the election of Christophe Béchu is not, apparently, without consequences for the local section of the Parti socialiste. After the resignation of Jean-Luc Rotureau who failed to get primaries for the designation of the socialist candidate to the municipal elections, after the bitter observation Mr. Béatse expressed in the first session of the city council about the fact he would not be, neither than Mr. Rotureau, choosen by the Parti to be its candidate in 2020 municipal polls, another prominent character of the Angers socialist network has announced her departure. Anne-Sophie Hocquet de Lajartre, since March 30th former mayor of Bouchemaine, made public a letter she wrote to Grégory Blanc, the Maine-et-Loire socialist head, in which she informs him about her departure but also expresses several griefs regarding the behaviour of that political formation for the last years.

Anne-Sophie Hocquet de Lajartre (left), Frédéric Béatse (centre)

Mrs. Hoc-quet de Lajartre first admits she made a mistake in 2013 when she didn't publicly demanded that open primaries be organized in Angers : this is "one of my most important remorses for the term which just ended". But the former socialist member blames Mr. Blanc for having officialy dismissed that Frédéric Béatse and Jean-Luc Rotureau would not be the candidates the Parti socialiste would support in 2020. "How can we already decide who will be candidate in 2020 and who will not be?", asks the outgoing supporter who goes on "Saying that, I don't accuse the first federal secretary [Grégory Blanc] but those who prevented him to act and who decide about candidates like horses are choosen before a race. It's time for the party I'am leaving to get rid of feudal customs".

Another prominent socialist character in Maine-et-Loire, Marc Goua, re-elected as Trélazé mayor and

Marc Goua

member of parliament, made self-criticism after the municipal outcome : "mistakes have been punished : Jean-Luc Rotureau's case, the very clumsy letter sent between the inter-rounds (in which the former Angers mayors warns voters about negative consequences of a Christophe Béchu's election]. A local representative must be close to the people, explain, listen, what probably was not done at the time of the triumphal announcement of the implementation of the scholar rythms reform" led by the Angers socialist Mp, Luc Belot.

Luc Belot

Will those critics be taken into account? And if so, when? It looks very unlikely that will be soon because the European elections are in sight. A new defeat of Socialist could prompt some changes. A topic which made Christophe Béchu elected as Angers mayor.