Marie Cau, who became the first transgender mayor in France in 2020, resigned from her mandate as councilor of the village of Tilloy-lez-Marchiennes (North), a decision aimed at provoking a “political reaction” to further support rural mayors, she told Agence France-Presse on Wednesday January 15.
Her resignation has been official since Tuesday, the elected official having, with “a great relief”signed the document notifying the prefect of his decision. This 59-year-old engineer was elected in 2020 at the head of a list “apolitical”.
“The straw that broke the camel’s back was that I filed a third complaint which was not followed up at all”she explained. Instead of helping her, the complaints she filed for defamation and verbal threats “Aggravate the problem, they excite people and, since they are not treated, give them a feeling of impunity”she estimated.
“The mayors of rural villages are being sacrificed. The workload is enormous, the compensation is ridiculous and you are insulted and defamed”she lamented, fearing an epidemic of renunciations of councilors in the next municipal elections next year. In his eyes, “all the rural mayors complain about it” : the life of a mayor is made “at the expense of his health, his professional and personal life”.
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“Particularly toxic climate” within the municipal council
According to a study by the Association of Mayors of France published in November, 83% of mayors believe that their mandate is « usant » for health, and 86% suffer or have suffered from sleep disorders. The Sciences Po Political Research Center recorded 450 resignations per year over the 2020-2023 period, compared to 350 during the previous term.
-In a letter distributed to the inhabitants of Tilloy-lez-Marchiennes, Marie Cau also mentioned other reasons for her departure, including the appointment to ministerial positions of “openly transphobic personalities” and the pension reform, which forces her to consider another job to ensure her “financial security”. She also mentioned a “particularly toxic climate” within the municipal council of his commune.
She also accused the “zero net artificialization” law of being “ill-suited to rural communities”and to turn against the mayors, “seen as responsible for government decisions”.
In November, angry at the budget cuts planned by the then prime minister, Michel Barnier, the mayors of France called for “decolonize” local authorities, increasingly under the supervision of the State according to them.
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