In Cogolin, opposition elected officials hijack the municipal council again

It was 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday evening, and the council meeting had begun. All that was missing was for the chief magistrate to speak and open the session.

But it was Olivier Courchet, an opposition councilor, who opened the ball. And immediately closed it. The councilor from the "Unis pour Cogolin" list didn't hesitate, looking at his watch. "You don't have the quorum, Miss Mayor," he began, already standing, his voice drowned out by the applause of the audience. He didn't need to go any further in his speech; everyone had understood what followed.

Lacking a sufficient quorum in favor of the majority, the council meeting was not even initiated. There were only 16 elected members in the majority, while the majority needed 17 councilors to avoid this new disaster.

Second failure in 20 days

Twenty days earlier, the opposition had scuttled the final municipal council meeting of the former mayor, Marc-Etienne Lansade, who had been forced to withdraw by the courts.

Christiane Lardat, elected mayor by her peers last Monday, made no attempt to discuss the matter. "The next city council meeting will take place Saturday morning at 9 a.m.," she stated laconically. She was obviously expecting this pressure from the opposition, having failed to summon enough running mates in person.

Ironically, the person who turned the tide of this session was none other than Francis Laprade. Demoted during the elective council, the now former deputy sports minister arrived... slightly late and failed his friends.

Questioned on the way out, he brushed it off, a small, mocking smile playing on the corner of his mouth. "I didn't know the new layout of the room... By the time I said hello to everyone, I should have jumped the barriers!"