Lisnard, running for the Élysée and the AMF: mayors' revolt grows ahead of their congress

The pressure is mounting on the mayor of Cannes. President of the Association des maires de France (AMF), the French mayors' association, since 2021, standing for re-election and a declared candidate in the presidential election, David Lisnard is seeing his dual role challenged on all sides as the mayors' congress, scheduled for 24 to 26 November, approaches.

The latest to speak out on Tuesday was Bernard Delcros, chair of the Senate's delegation for local authorities. For this centrist senator from Cantal, close to the MoDem, the AMF president must represent mayors of all political persuasions, which becomes complicated when one is running a partisan campaign at the same time.

Bernard Delcros, senator for Cantal, told Public Sénat that he believed the situation was not sustainable in the long run.

He urged the mayor of Cannes to face up to his responsibilities in order to protect an association whose sole purpose must be to defend local councils.

A blurring of roles

The accusation keeps coming up, on the left and in the centre alike. Socialist André Laignel, first vice-president of the AMF, and the PS mayor of Bourg-en-Bresse, Jean-François Debat, wrote to him asking for restraint. At issue in particular are his remark on LCI that he didn't care, made about the massacre of 17 October 1961, and his comments on the Millevaches plateau after the fire at Limoges town hall, which were denounced by some fifty elected officials from the Limousin. The head of the MoDem MPs, Marc Fesneau, also points to a fundamental problem: it is mayors who grant the sponsorships presidential candidates need.

His challenger, the UDI mayor of Sceaux Philippe Laurent, already beaten in 2021 (the incumbent won with 62.3% of the vote), is making this his main argument. He told Public Sénat that he believed the AMF was in danger, given David Lisnard's divisive positions. PS mayors, including Stéphane Le Foll in Le Mans, have already called for a vote for him. Jean-François Debat warns that the majority of left-wing mayors are likely to turn away from the incumbent.

The Lisnard camp's defence

The Cannes mayor's entourage sees no incompatibility and promises that if re-elected, he will step back from the AMF in favour of a temporary collegial leadership. Philippe Laurent scoffed that he was a general abandoning his army.

Accused by Marc Fesneau of preparing an alliance with the far right, David Lisnard also stated on X on Sunday that he would ally neither with the Macronists nor with the RN.

An outsider on the rise

The affair comes as the Nouvelle Énergie candidate is enjoying an upturn. According to 20 Minutes, he scored 6% in an Ifop-Fiducial poll published in mid-October and 8% in a Cluster 17 survey for Politico, each time one point ahead of Bruno Retailleau. LR, for its part, insists it will not try to have him defeated at the AMF.

What comes next

Two votes will be held at the congress: one on the single list for the governing bodies, drawn up by the right and the left, and a separate one for the presidency. It is this second vote, at the end of November, that will show whether the mayors' revolt translates into ballots.