Claude Papin knows the town of Saint-Amand-sur-Sèvre by heart. He was born there on February 20, 1946 and never stopped doing his bit to help it progress and prosper, particularly through his political commitment as a citizen. A thirty-six year lease on the municipal council, including nineteen as mayor, from 2001 to 2020.
The idea came to him to write down this busy life on paper. With a touch of humor, the former industrial designer at Heuliez, until his retirement in 2004, sprinkles his story with anecdotes experienced as a very committed local actor, for whom associative life also had a very great place.
I learned a lot from interacting with people. The role of mayor has never kept me from sleeping
Claude Papin
In Love of my communitywritten with Fabienne Chusseau, public writer and biographer of Saint-Amand-sur-Sèvre, he takes a leap into his memory to evoke in particular the exit from the city of Grand Mauléon in 1991 with the mayor of the time, Marie- Josephe Séchet.
“Being a member was unbearable for a group of Saint-Amantais. It started with around ten people. I really wanted to tell the story of this precise moment which lasted several years. It wasn't easy, but we had a lot of support. We had to demonstrate that we had not been wrong and that we could live in self-sufficiency and then develop the municipality. »
A room that makes one proud
And to promote it, the cursor was the number of births. Propelled to mayor with pleasure in 2001 within a list without a headliner, he used this compass until his exit in 2020, “chosen and without any regrets at 74. I didn't have any difficult moments because I was well surrounded, notably with Gérard Jolly and Jean-Noël Massé, with whom we made a trio who walked with their eyes closed. »
But what marked it was the creation of the Libellule room in 2008. The work, praised by all, is still perfectly functional today. “She has aged very well. I actively participated in the design of this room and I am very proud of it. »
The bypass of the town, the increase of two hundred inhabitants during his mandates, the development of the school, the liberal professions and the shops are all joys for the former councilor.
“I learned a lot from interacting with people. The role of mayor has never kept me from sleeping, in this town where there is extraordinary solidarity which facilitates the integration of everyone. »
The Love of My Commune, by Claude Papin, Inspir'éditions (Carole Poujade, La Roche-sur-Yon), 148 pages (€18). Available from Claude Papin (05.49.81.68.37).
