the essential
Some associations and festival committees have already canceled their events planned for Sunday June 30 and July 7. Because of the legislative vote, volunteers are deprived of room, staff and equipment.
The cancellations keep coming. Two weeks before the first round of the early legislative elections, many party committees and associations in the Lot are forced to put a red cross on their calendar. “As soon as I heard the announcement on Sunday evening on TV, I understood immediately that it was no longer possible,” remembers Monique Coste, president of the Montdoumerc entertainment committee. Sunday June 9, in front of Emmanuel Macron, his arms fell. This is because on Sunday July 7, in this small village, we organize the traditional garage sale and the gourmet market. “The municipal team is very active in the organization, the elected officials help us close the roads with barriers, carry the tables, they lend us a tractor to transport the equipment,” explains the president. It will be necessary to do without: the mayor and his deputies will be monopolized all day by the vote for the second round of the legislative elections. The activities committee and its 7 volunteers find themselves deprived of hands and equipment. “We will end up with electoral panels on the village square, where we set up our stands, it is not compatible,” resigned the Lotoise. Especially when the event takes place, the village center is not accessible by car and parking lots are provided outside. A configuration impossible to maintain in the event of a vote. “We cannot force voters, especially those who are elderly, to park further away and walk as much to reach the polling station,” she adds. The musician has been canceled and the day will be postponed until the start of the school year.
In Villesèque, to maintain the festival in his village, the mayor even asked the prefecture to transfer the polling station. “We have two polling stations because there are two village halls. The prefecture asked us several years ago to consolidate the vote in a single office in Villesèque, and no longer in Trébaix. But the party takes place in the Villesèque room, the only one that can accommodate all the participants,” says Alain Foissac, president of the festival committee. The councilor therefore wants to relocate his polling station to Trébaïx.
300 euros for posters, adhesive tape to find
For now, the prefecture had not yet given the green light. “It’s a hard pill to swallow but we’re pretty confident, in any case, I’ve ordered everything, including the goods for the meal and the refreshment bar. The orchestra is scheduled for Friday, Saturday and Sunday”; he indicates. 400 residents are expected at the Sunday meal.
In Gourdon, the members of the Prouilhac Safeguarding and Heritage association were unable to find a compromise. The tribute concert to Edith Piaf, planned at the Pargueminiers hall, is postponed because the hall is requisitioned for the vote on July 7. “We have already spent 300 euros to print our dozens of posters, our 2500 flyers and 350 numbered tickets. So, we decided to roll up our sleeves, we found ourselves adhesive rolls to tape on all our posters and our flyers a sticker postponed”, says Thierry Durand, the president of the association. The new date of September 22 has been communicated. Grace Beauly, the singer, was understanding. In Saint-Céré, the theater festival in the rue Art-rue had to revise its copy. The programming was revised downwards by the Evidanse association, particularly on Sunday July 7.
In Cahors, Lot of flavors is relocating the chefs’ meal on Sunday June 30. It will take place under the pergola of Place François Mitterrand rather than in Valentré to “facilitate the logistics around the meal in a context of overmobilization of the festivities service in connection with the organization of the vote”. Furthermore, due to the electoral reserve period for state services, many events have also been canceled such as the national firefighters’ day on June 22, in Cahors.
