Pierre-Marie Majorel withdraws to avoid a "splitting of the vote"

The name of the former president of the Economic, Social, Cultural, and Environmental Council had been on the list of potential candidates for the September 27 Senate elections for many months. When the prefecture’s delegation opened the nomination period on Monday, September 7, Pierre-Marie Majorel said he was still considering his options. That deliberation ended even before the registration deadline. On Thursday, September 10, Pierre-Marie Majorel announced to the JSB that he was withdrawing from the race. “While I have played a central role in the island’s economic and social life for ten years, a Senate run might have seemed like a natural next step in my career. But such a candidacy seemed worthwhile to me only if I could garner sufficient support.” In veiled terms, the former president of the CESCE appears to be highlighting the sudden disappearance of political support that had been expressed just a few months earlier. Consequently, he is withdrawing. “To prevent an additional candidacy from splitting the vote,” he explains, “and from disrupting the incumbent candidate’s campaign, I have chosen to withdraw from the race. ” Nevertheless, Pierre-Marie Majorel has no intention of stepping back from the island’s political, economic, and social life. As such, he is already setting his sights on the territorial elections in March 2027. Even if, once again, he is careful to express this in veiled terms. “I’m not giving up on serving Saint-Barth,” he assures us. “But I’m choosing a different way to do it—why not next year?”