“I have spent the last eleven years devoting all my energy to the town. There was no question of me serving a third term.” Asked about his resignation announced on its Facebook page the evening before, on mayor of Verberie Michel Arnould doesn’t say much more about the reasons.
Aged 67, retired from the civil service, Michel Arnould has been mayor since 2014. He says that his successor is known to everyone, without saying his name. “My successor is necessarily in the municipal council, so he is known to everyone,” he explains. I can’t tell you who it is, since there will be a city council vote.”
“It will be first assistant Cécile Davidovicsbet Aurélien Cournilleader of theopposition. I was not aware of this resignation, but I expected it. It’s a maneuver to seat the person he has designated in the mayor’s chair.” According to the opponent, the first deputy has been increasingly active in municipal life for some time.
Owner of the Le Clos du Tilleul bed and breakfast since 2013, she joined the municipal council almost ten years ago.
No return to the polls for residents
“A carefully considered choice, remained completely confidential, taken ten months ago so that the rest can be prepared calmly,” the mayor wrote on Facebook. The mayor also notes with satisfaction that nothing has “leaked” concerning his resignation. He says he trusts his majority on the municipal council, where he will sit until 2026. “As a municipal councilor, I will continue to actively participate in the construction of the city,” insists the mayor.
This resignation will not cause a return to the polls for the Sautriauts (residents of Verberie), since the municipal council is complete.
The opposition sees this resignation as a “political maneuver”
On the side of Aurélien Cournil, elected in 2020 with six other residents on the list of Patrick Floury (who resigned in 2021), we are preparing for 2026. “We will present a list and we are working collegially on a program”, he indicates. It will therefore be facing the list of Michel Arnould’s successor.
“When I talk about political maneuvering,” says Aurélie Cournil, “I say that by resigning, he allows his successor to benefit from the status of outgoing mayor. Which is an advantage.” The opponent concludes: “This will not change anything in Verberie’s policy, which will remain the same.”
Michel Arnould wants a team with a new mayor to propose and execute the municipality’s 2025 budget. “He will then be able to put himself forward for your vote in the 2026 municipal elections”, in “the interest of Verberie”.
“The collapse that France has been experiencing for several years in almost all areas is unbearable to me,” he also wrote. “That doesn’t influence my decision,” he comments. But I see that our leaders have not been up to the task.”
