On December 17, 2024, Marie-Jeanne Bellamy received the insignia of knight of the Order of Merit from Jean-Pierre Raffarin in Poitiers. This distinction ends a significant year in her rich career in politics, which began in 1995 with a mandate as municipal councilor in Trois-Moutiers.
On March 17, the former town hall secretary won the partial senatorial election in Vienne after the resignation of Yves Bouloux, which occurred in December 2023 for health reasons. A victory achieved after a close vote: the candidate, supported by Les Républicains, obtained 437 votes in the second round, ahead of Gisèle Jean (406 votes) and Karine Desroses (276 votes). At 58, she became the first woman from the department to sit at the Luxembourg Palace.
“It’s complicated to work when you’re a novice”
“In the weeks that followed, I received messages from women saying I was a role model. There's nothing extraordinary about me.”confides Marie-Jeanne Bellamy, who admits to being, still a little, reserved. This does not prevent him from feeling more and more comfortable in this new role.
What the former deputy of Alain Fouché, then of Yves Bouloux, did not imagine, however, was to experience the first months marked by political instability since the dissolution of the National Assembly. “There were a lot of cuts, the elections, the appointment of Prime Minister Michel Barnier, the motion of censure… It's complicated to work when you're a novice. »
“Being a senator and mayor is not incompatible”
Previously, Marie-Jeanne Bellamy had to give up several local executive commitments, due to non-cumulative mandates: mayor of Trois-Moutiers, vice-president of the community of communes of Pays Loudunais, president of the departmental fire and rescue service (Sdis) and the Association of Mayors of Vienna… “A real heartbreak” for those who are not opposed to a legislative step backwards. “It’s not incompatible to be a senator and a mayor. »
The parliamentarian, however, wished to retain her mandate as departmental advisor, sitting next to Bruno Belin. What are the relations with his partner from the canton of Loudun and colleague in the Senate? “We each treat the subjects in our own way. He has his personality, I have mine. »
“Elected in the field”
Marie-Jeanne Bellamy defines herself as “an elected official from the field” et “a go-getter”. The member of the Committee on Culture, Education, Communication and Sport has already questioned ministers on subjects that she is familiar with: the support fund for the development of extracurricular activities, the financial situation of the departments, the agricultural crisis, the number of municipal councilors in small towns… She is also leading a working group with elected officials from Vienne around the status of elected officials.
The senator also distinguished herself by requesting an update from Bruno Retailleau, Minister of the Interior, after his controversial comments on the shooting of October 31, 2024 in the Couronneries district in Poitiers. This does not prevent him from supporting him, in a forum, on a rule of law, “not intangible, nor sacred”.
Marie-Jeanne Bellamy, however, does not want to remain confined to her political label. “We all have right or left tendenciesshe says. But there are subjects on which we must be able to agree. The situation in France is such that we must put egos aside. »
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