The opposition continues to criticize the decision of the socialist mayor Nathalie Appéré not to receive the Grand Départ of the Tour de France in 2021
The summer soap opera is not over. No, Rennes will not host the big start of the Tour de France in 2021. Mayor Nathalie Appéré and his left-wing majority preferred to decline the proposal of the organizer ASO, who was looking for a fallback spot after the defection of Copenhagen. On June 26, the Grande Boucle will finally leave Brest before surveying the Breton roads for four stages. Rennes will she host one? We can doubt it. While waiting for October 26 and the unveiling of the complete route, the opposition continues to criticize the decision of the Rennes majority.
This Monday, it was Carole Gandon, LREM candidate for the last municipal elections, who was responsible for putting a piece back in the jukebox. “This refusal to host the Tour is as incomprehensible as it is unfair. It is a huge waste for all those who work and live in Rennes. I think of the businesses and the joyful dimension that the event would have brought. Rennes turns its back on Brittany and Rennes makes a fool of itself, ”tackles the young municipal councillor.
Le Tour de France mérite que l’on porte sur lui un regard critique. Les invectives et injures à l’encontre des élu-e-s écologistes sont indignes d’un débat politique, nous avons le droit de porter un autre regard pour le monde d’après. https://t.co/uABhNWmXsL
— EELV Rennes (@Eelv_Rennes) August 13, 2020
For his right-hand man Olivier Dulucq, the municipal majority elected in June “did not understand to what extent cycling and cycling are part of Brittany”. On Sunday, he watched the disputed stage around Nice and saw several Breton flags on the side of the roads which saw the Frenchman Julian Alaphilippe triumph .
“The arguments put forward are ridiculous”
Very upset against the mayor, the elected representatives of the Révéler Rennes group are even more acidic on the environmental allies of Nathalie Appéré, who were the first to communicate on this refusal to host the Grand Départ. “The arguments put forward are ridiculous. We were first told about ecology, then sexism, cost and finally a timing problem, ”criticizes Carole Gandon.
“It’s my decision,” Nathalie Appéré had defended to Ouest-France, citing scheduling problems next June. “A real organizational difficulty” because of the delivery of the second metro line and the holding of exams and a “budget constraint” linked to the entry ticket set at 700,000 euros by the organizer Amaury Sport Organization. The mayor even mentioned an overall investment amount of “three million euros”.
“So yes, you can like the Tour, want it to go through your city, without considering that its high cost is a priority of the moment”, had defended the elected environmentalists. “This decision will mark durably and sadly the mandate which begins”, had meanwhile criticised the leader of the right and the centre Charles Compagnon.
