There were many absentees among the lists of candidates called to face off on March 15. On very technical subjects, the present councillors found many points of convergence. There was no confrontation in this last council meeting of the term.
A municipal council three weeks before the first round could have turned into a series of skirmishes. It did not happen. Key figures from the series (or list) who were set to face off against Martine Souquet were absent for professional reasons (Jean-Marc Aguerre, Gabriel Carramusa) or personal reasons (Christelle Hardy). Second-in-commands (Marie Montels, Christophe Wattrelot, Elisa Gillet, Anthony Moussu) skipped the meeting. And those who were displaced (Daniel Ribes, Claire Villeneuve, Laurent Squassina) remained silent.
Of the four represented lists around the table, only Thomas Domenech asked a few questions and risked two or three objections and abstentions halfheartedly. The long intervention by Alain Soriano – in his last one after thirty years of office – on the report of the “culture” and “heritage” commissions, finished off putting the council to sleep. For many, the tranquility of this late afternoon bordered on torpor.
Like a non-aggression pact
The agenda was quite technical, even arid: extension of the “Small Cities of Tomorrow” framework agreement, curating museum collections (verifying the condition and compliance of the property and its inventory), compensation allocations, agreements to make municipal employees available to the Gaillacois Sanitation and Drinking Water Union, request for funding for the renovation of the Pichery pool (Thomas Domenech abstains), approval of the Interacting plan for the replacement of 450 light points and 22 electrical cabinets, advance payments to several associations.
The topics did not offer much room for nitpicking, everyone seemed to be saving their energy for the coming battles. The mayor therefore listed the agenda without encountering any opposition. Martine Souquet had previously prepared the ground by thanking all the councillors “for their constructive participation despite our differences of opinion. We have all expressed these differences with dignity and respect. We have represented the population of Gaillac with dignity”. And if the assembly could not vote on the Unique Financial Account (CFU) for the year, it was not their fault. The computer breakdown on the M57 document from the state services has still not been fixed. DGFIP technicians have until June – the deadline – to resolve the issue. This technical failure likely avoided some clashes and contributed to the almost unanimous nature of this final council meeting.
