In Valognes, Manche, outgoing mayor Jacques Coquelin, from divers droite, allies with his left-wing opposition to seek a fourth term in the municipal elections on March 15 and 22. This 'multicolour' list includes socialist Fabrice Rodriguez and three minority elected officials. The arrangement draws reservations from part of the local left, especially La France insoumise militants.
Valognes, a town of 7,200 residents in the heart of the Cotentin peninsula in Manche, is gearing up for municipal elections. Mayor Jacques Coquelin, from divers droite, aims for a fourth term at the head of a list he calls 'multicolour'. For the first time, he partners with socialist Fabrice Rodriguez, who opposed him in 2014 and 2020, along with three minority elected officials.
Coquelin justifies the alliance by invoking 'a social and solidarity Gaullism'. 'I am a left-wing Gaullist as they used to say. My values lead me to work with people who do not share my opinions. I want the clash of ideas and I do not ask anyone to change party to build together', he explains.
Jean-Louis Valentin, a Les Républicains member until 2025 and former president of the Cotentin agglomeration community (180,000 residents) from 2017 to 2020, is on the list. He values 'this gathering around a programme with people who keep their convictions'.
Yet, the arrangement is not welcomed by all of the local left. La France insoumise militants voice their disapproval. A collective claiming to represent 'humanist and ecologist left' has struggled for months to form a competing list.
