“Mayors are under considerable pressure”

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The proportion is eloquent: exhaustion threatens a third of the mayors of municipalities with less than 10,000 inhabitants.

It is therefore a warning signal what the recent study by the Amarok Observatory* sends (read above)message to which the Association of rural mayors of France (AMRF) joins. His representative in Ille-et-Vilaine, Louis Pautrel, also mayor of Le Ferré, near Fougères (Ille-et-Vilaine), denounces an ever-increasing mission heavy.

What observations do you draw on the well-being of mayors in the country of Fougères?

There is a very strong weariness about this mandate, which I had not noticed before. It was born in particular with the Covid crisis, which required adapting the operations of public services. The vaccination episode was also particularly trying. Mayors have been on the front line all the time and we have all forgotten that.

Is the mayor in greater demand than before?

Our society has changed enormously. Today, the point of reference for our population is the mayor of the municipality. It is to citizens what the lighthouse is to sailors.

The requests are very numerous: the family unit is destabilized, there are many neighborhood conflicts and incivility is increasing without justice being applied.

30% of requests have nothing to do with the mayor's role: people want advice, an opinion.

There is also another problem: we live in a society that relies a lot on digital and immediacy. We have to respond to the second, which is exhausting.

What can we say about the individualism of society?

There are many administrators who always want to be right. We have lost the sense of collective.

The Covid era has forced us to live in isolation, afraid of others. We didn't even touch each other anymore, even if only for a handshake or a hug. And the telephone does not improve the situation, since we now have access to almost everything without having to leave the house.

However, there was already a form of desocialization. This period was an accelerator.

You also denounce the administrative complexity, which tends to become colossal.

It creates great difficulty in bringing a project to fruition. If I had to summarize, I would say that we very often encounter headwinds. What annoys me a lot is this policy of fear, which is illustrated when we read a legal text or an implementing decree. In terms of liability, there is always a risk for the mayor, whatever we do.

There is also a lack of recognition on the part of national elected officials, who do not involve us when they vote on a law. We deserve more listening and understanding. The ZAN law (Zero net artificialization) is a perfect example of this and takes away any latitude for action.

Municipal freedom must be preserved, while we are more and more dependent on other authorities: we have, in a certain way, been placed under supervision. A mayor can no longer respond directly to a resident's request.

Is the exhaustion of mayors therefore inevitable?

The results of the study do not surprise me. Mayors are under considerable pressure. And they are alone, in the middle of all the problems I just mentioned. It's very hard, it's tiring.

You have to have strong shoulders and a broad back to be mayor.

Moreover, a year and a half before the next municipal elections, several mayors have already decided to quit, not because of age or health, but out of fed up.

I never hear someone say directly: “I am satisfied with my role. »And if I speak for myself, it is a passion, for the inhabitants, the territory, the common good, the general interest, but I am not satisfied every day, far from it.

Previously, being mayor was an honor, today it is a passion without satisfaction.

When I solve one problem, two more come up: the game is never over. But as we have passion, we keep the faith.

What are your ideas for resolving this situation?

We must no longer be placed under supervision and there must be real administrative simplification. We also need to bring conviviality back into the mission of elected officials, with the festive side that existed before. To caricature, I will say that our ancestors met around the table to eat and drink, then when they agreed, they high-fived each other. Today, everything is done through contacts with bailiffs or lawyers.

*Study published by the Amarok Observatory, in collaboration with the Association of Rural Mayors of France and conducted by Olivier Torres and Mathieu Le Moal, from the University of Montpellier. Mayors of municipalities with more than 10,000 inhabitants were excluded from the representative sample.

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