Carcassonne. Gilles Icher lays the groundwork for a new political adventure.

The former running mate of Gérard Larrat and likely first deputy if the outgoing right-wing mayor had won, Gilles Icher has published a lengthy statement on social media expressing his intention to continue his political action with others after the March 2026 municipal elections in Carcassonne.

It took time to digest the defeat of the outgoing right-wing mayor, Gérard Larrat. As the installation of the new municipal council will take place this Sunday, March 29 at 10 am, various personalities who were involved in the campaign are already reflecting on the aftermath. One of them is Gilles Icher, a running mate of Gérard Larrat and likely first deputy if the mayor had won.

In a long statement posted on his social networks, Icher, who had left public life sixteen years ago, looks back on the electoral campaign months. “I engaged with pleasure and passion in this campaign. Several months ago, we made a choice to join the outgoing mayor and respond favorably to his proposal. I do not regret this choice. I could have fought accompanied by many friends, I was ready for it. We were prepared,” he details. And he explains that he preferred to unite rather than bring division to the division of moderate right-wing and center sensitivities: “We chose unity and gathering after long discussions with multiple declared or potential candidates. Unfortunately, this work did not bear fruit and the result is far from our expectations for reasons on which I will not dwell and which many share.”

The former deputy to sports Raymond Chesa also revisits the tumultuous week between the two rounds marked by the olive branch extended by the united left candidate, Alix Soler-Alcaraz, to the two right-wing candidates: François Mourad and Gérard Larrat. A republican coalition proposal accepted by the latter but rejected by his former collaborator who preferred to go it alone. “I simply regret that the unique second-round candidacy, that of bringing together to propose a simple duel, could not, for various reasons, be built. Even if many examples close to us, like in Sète, Tarbes, Nîmes, or Avignon, show us that a three-way race does not necessarily lead to defeat,” he concludes.

After the defeat of the mayor, Gilles Icher looks towards the future, recalling “that a new political time is coming for our city.” “On our part, we will more than ever, many of us, continue our action. We will be constructive and vigilant opponents. With one goal. To serve Carcassonne and to unite,” he says.

He is laying the groundwork for a new political adventure, “to build a different future. We will come back to you in the coming months to specify the details.” The coming months will tell us what it is all about.