In La Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée), Bron (Rhône), Saint-Barthélemy (Isère), and even in Nice (Alpes-Maritimes), but also in the departmental councils of Marne or even Tarn: at the beginning 2025, throughout France, many communities have decided to cancel their ceremony of wishes to the population, due to a tense economic context. In Indre, this is not on the agenda.
“I have not heard any echo of this in our department, assures Claude Doucet, president of the Association of Mayors of Indre and mayor of Valençay. I would find it a shame to eliminate this meeting which often provides an opportunity to meet new residents. »
In Saint-Médard, the mayor counts the number of inhabitants for the pancake
Marc Fleuret, president of the Departmental Council, who also decided to maintain this tradition, confirms: “In a rural area like ours, it is an essential moment of exchange with mayors, associative and economic actors. It is also an important contract for Charcuteries de l’Indre with whom we work. But no need for glitter: I have given instructions for simplicity and conviviality. »
In Valençay, wishes merged
However, elected officials are on the lookout for little tips to reduce the bill as much as possible. In Valençay for example, the wishes of the municipality and the community of municipalities are merged. “And many things will be carried out by technical services and served by municipal councilors”adds Claude Doucet. Same approach in Déols, where “petits fours will be made by our school catering service, in order to minimize costs”indicates the mayor, Delphine Geneste.
I had asked for a response before the end of the year, but we have only received around fifteen so far, so we will give the latecomers a little more time.
Alain Jacquet mayor of Saint-Médard
In the small town of Saint-Médard (61 inhabitants), which is organizing a Galette des Rois on January 11, the mayor Alain Jacquet and his advisors sent invitation cards to residents asking them if they would be present, in order to order the exact number of pancakes “to avoid any waste”. But the answers are slow to come. “I asked for a response before the end of the year, but we have only received around fifteen so far, so we will give the latecomers a little more time,” specifies the councilor. A quest for savings which will not prevent the local municipality from offering the ten or so children in the town “a book or a toy”.
In Saint-Benoît-du-Sault, offbeat wishes in February
And then, there is the case of Saint-Benoît-du-Sault, where partial municipal elections must take place on February 2 and 9, to elect six new municipal councilors. “We decided to maintain the wishes and organize them in mid-February, in order to present the new team to the population”indicates the mayor, Damien Barré. A moment all the more important because, according to the first elected official, “one in three residents was not there ten years ago”. Reason why he also plans to distribute, on this occasion, “a short calendar of events that will take place in the town this year”.
At Pont-Chrétien-Chabenet, a first since 2020!
If several municipalities in France have decided to remove their wishes, in Pont-Chrétien-Chabenet, it is quite the opposite! Mayor Guillaume Chaussemy, elected in the middle of Covid in 2020, will in fact organize, on January 17, 2025, the first wishes of his mandate! “From 2020 to 2022, we were still in the post-Covid era, and in 2023, we had not thought about it, he confides. But this year, many residents have asked us to do so, so we will offer a small reception and some appetizers in the village hall, at the castle.”
