this small town in Auvergne must not lose inhabitants

Since January 16, the census campaign has started in the commune of Mauriac in Cantal. This year, there is a major challenge: not to fall below the 3,500 inhabitants mark. This could have big consequences for the municipality and the residents of the town.

That morning, there were not many people on the horizon in the town center of Mauriac in Cantal. For Mylène Barbazange, employee in a tobacco bar, this observation is not surprising: “The population is aging, it is not getting younger. Young people don't stay there anyway. Now more and more are leaving. When students graduate, lots of them leave. »

Edwige Zanchi, mayor (DV) of Mauriac, alert : “Pwords we are inhabitants, the better it is for the general life of a municipality. Çhas significant consequences. The bar of 3 500 habitants is strategic porr what we call the DGF, the overall operating allocationqui is a state subsidy. Elle is dependent on the number of inhabitants recorded, although there are weightings and it is a little nuanced. Son an institutional leveliThere are some changes when you are above or inbelow of 3 500 habitants. ACurrently there are 27 advisorss to Municipal council, if we go below the bar of 3 500, we would pass has 23 advisors only. There are other examples, particularly at the level of the community of communes, where things change when we go below 3,500 inhabitants.”

During the last census in 2019, the municipality had 3,716 citizens. Has Mauriac therefore fallen below the symbolic bar of 3,500 inhabitants? For several days, Michel Bonis, enumerator, has been trying to find out. Sometimes with more or less success: “People refuse, it happens. Not a lot, but it happens. You have to take it as a joke, as we say at home, you have to round the corners a little bit and you finally manage to convince them. »

In total, 6 census takers shared the territory of the town of Mauriac. “They were asked to emphasize the interest and importance of doing this census, to do it in excellent conditions and above all not to forget anyone!” explains Edwige Zanchi.

This long and difficult mission therefore has a major stake. If the village does not have more than 3,500 inhabitants, this could have consequences on the daily life of Mauriacois. Edwige Zanchi warns: “In terms of property taxes, the fewer residents there are, the greater the burden will be for each resident of Mauriac. It's not interesting to anyone. We are currently finalizing premises at the gendarmerie level, which we are renovating. We are in the process of building a micro-nursery. It becomes a little complicated because the fewer residents we have, the more problematic it will become to offer these services to the entire population of the territory. Will it be necessary to have all of this? We are asking ourselves big questions about the future. There are roads to make, roads to renovate or restructure. It is this type of project that will be impacted by the financing that we may have or by pure self-financing, since if there are fewer inhabitants, we will bring in less money. »

With more deaths than births, the town of Mauriac has a negative natural balance. “Fortunately, we had a few families and a few new arrivals, we still have a delta which, a priori, represents 20 people. There are weightings in relation to secondary residences, in relation to students, it is not a raw figure I dare to hope that we will always be above 3,500. This is a real danger for municipalities like ours. All the services that we provide by being a municipality greater than 3,500 inhabitants. subsidies that we have in relation, if we go below, what will we do with all these services Will we be able to keep them? asks the councilor. While waiting for the results, which should be revealed at the end of 2025, the mayor does not lose hope. In more than a century, the population of Mauriac has decreased by 500 people.