(FILES) Laurent Degallaix, mayor de Valenciennes and president of Valenciennes Metropole, listens to President of the Hauts-de-France region during a meeting at the Saint-Saulve town hall on the future of the Ascoval steel factory, a branch of conglomerate Ascometal and Vallourec on October 25, 2018 in northern France, ahead of a court decision on the factory's future. The verdict in the trial of Laurent Degallaix, the mayor of Valenciennes, on charges of 'illegal conflict of interest' and 'subornation of a witness', will be pronounced on April 30, 2026. (Photo by FRANCOIS LO PRESTI / AFP via Getty Images)