In one of the rare photos that circulates of him in the press this Thursday, May 11, Yannick Morez appears with a haggard look in front of the facade of a charred house and two charred cars. This house was his. On the night of March 22, it was set on fire, while he was sleeping there with his wife and children. The culmination of several months of threats and intimidation. The criminal track is indeed favored by the investigators.
The town of Saint-Brévin-les-Pins, with a population of some 15,000, has been the subject of fierce protests for several months following the announcement of a project for a reception center for asylum seekers. (cada). Several demonstrations against this project have been organized there, the last of which at the end of April, at the call of the far right, in particular the movement around Reconquest, the party of Eric Zemmour. It was because of his support for this Cada project that Mayor Yannick Morez was the target of threats and intimidation. Tuesday, May 9, the city councilor submitted his resignation to the prefect of Loire-Atlantique, indicating that he was withdrawing in the face of “the lack of support from the State”. He also announced that he was leaving the town. Back in four dates on this case.
Since the end of 2022, repeated far-right demonstrations
While the town of Saint-Brévin-les-Pins has been welcoming refugees since 2016, the Loire-Atlantique prefecture and the town hall announced in October 2021 the relocation of the reception center (Cada) to a larger space here. end of 2022. At the time, Yannick Morez told West France, that the new premises will be located near the town’s school. The restoration of the premises is finally delayed and the reception of the first refugees is finally postponed until the end of 2023.
It was in October 2022 that a first demonstration against the installation of this project was organized in Saint-Brévin. According to an article by our colleagues fromWest France, around forty residents, supported by far-right elected officials and politicians (RN, Reconquête), expressed their opposition to the establishment of a reception center for asylum seekers (Cada). Facing them, a hundred counter-demonstrators had gathered to “say that France is a land of welcome”. “A tense face-to-face during which invectives were exchanged”, then reported the regional daily.
A few weeks later, on December 11, 2022, another demonstration opposing supporters and detractors of the project. Some chanting “solidarity”, others: “Protect our children.” Several other demonstrations follow, as never seen in this small town located on the other side of the estuary of Saint-Nazaire. “We have never seen a demonstration like this here since 68 and even then, there were fewer people at the time”, testified Marc, a retiree, to Release. In February, nearly 1,000 people faced each other near the town hall. The last dates from the end of April, at the call of the far right, in particular the movement around Reconquest, the party of Eric Zemmour.
On March 22, an arson attack targeted his home.
In recent months, his support as mayor for the Cada development project has earned him a shower of insults and threats, until the March 22 arson attack on his house, which was targeted while he slept. , him and all his family. The fire broke out around 5 a.m. at Yannick Morez’s home, completely destroying two of his vehicles and damaging part of his house.
The prosecution of Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique) immediately announced the opening of a criminal investigation. The first conclusions lead “to rule out the accidental track and to favor the intervention of third parties and the criminal track”, had then indicated the public prosecutor of Saint-Nazaire, Sylvie Canovas-Lagarde, in a press release. Yannick Morez filed a complaint and the Saint-Nazaire public prosecutor’s office opened “a criminal investigation in flagrance of the head of willful destruction by fire on a person holding public authority”, entrusted to the research brigade of the gendarmerie of Pornic. Today, the investigation is still ongoing and the perpetrators remain unknown.
On May 9, Yannick Morez submits his resignation
This Tuesday, May 9, denouncing “a lack of state support”, Yannick Morez announced that he had submitted his resignation to the Loire-Atlantique prefecture. “I made this decision for personal reasons, in particular following the arson attack on my home and the lack of state support and after a long reflection with my family”, explains Yannick Morez. “A difficult decision taken as a family, entirely linked to the attack we suffered. Neither my wife nor my three children want me to continue after what happened, he said daily. West France. During the fire, we almost died.”
Contacted by France Blue Loire Ocean, his relatives testify today to a decision taken in pain. One of them recalls that Yannick Morez has been “elected to the city council since 2008, mayor since 2017, he loves his city”. The city councilor has also announced that he will leave the city of Saint-Brévin, where he has lived for 32 years, to settle elsewhere.
May 11: cascading political support
Two days after the fire in his house, on March 24, Yannick Morez had written to government spokesman Olivier Véran, asking him for support. Today, part of the political class is moved by his resignation.
From Reunion, where she is traveling, Elisabeth Borne wanted to “assure the mayor of all his support”. She also assures that “the Minister in charge of Territorial Communities, Dominique Faure, contacted this mayor, it shows our desire to better protect mayors, to respond more effectively when there are threats”. This obviously did not comfort, nor had any effect on Yannick Morez. And the Prime Minister added: “We will continue to strengthen our action to intervene earlier and be able to support the mayors, identify the difficulties and better support them in the face of violence of which they can sometimes be victims.”
A few minutes later, it was Emmanuel Macron who supported the resigning mayor on his Twitter account. “The attacks against Yannick Morez, mayor of Saint-Brevin-les-Pins, and against his family, are unworthy. To this elected representative of the Republic, to his wife and children, I repeat my solidarity and that of the Nation”, declared the Head of State on the social network. In the process, the Minister in charge of Territorial Communities, Dominique Faure, assured that she would unveil, also next week, “new means to prevent and fight against attacks on elected officials”.
On the left, all parties denounced the situation which led Yannick Morez to resign. “The State’s inaction is an absolute shame. What is it waiting for to act?” Tweeted Fabien Roussel (PCF), while Marine Tondelier (EELV) judged that “the Republic is backing down”. For her part, Marine Le Pen, leader of the RN deputies who did not join Wednesday evening in the applause of the National Assembly in support of Yannick Morez, described Thursday on Twitter as “inadmissible” the “attacks and intimidation towards the elect”.