Wish ceremonies, a tradition synonymous with a marathon for those elected

The petits fours are placed on the table. Champagne is served in glasses. At the microphone, Manuela Mahier, mayor of La Hague (Manche), succeeds deputy mayor Jérôme Belhomme.

” THE wishes are moments of exchange and convivialityand we decided to maintain them because we believe that the proximity is experienced in such an event, in these moments of daily life», she explains to the assembly.

Cascading ceremonies

Ce Sunday January 12, 2025 at 11 a.m., the meeting is given to all residents of the town. This is the traditional ceremonywishes from Branville-Hagueone of the 19 delegated municipalities of La Hague.

The day before, the ceremony took place at Vastevillethen to Digulleville. The following days, For babies, Gréville …will fill Madam Mayor’s agenda.

Like many elected officials, his planning hustle for this first month of the year. “I at least 25 ceremonies wishes that I honor in January,” says Manuela Mahier. However, she does not manage to respond to all the invitations she receives.

This inevitably disrupts our usual rhythm. I have ceremonies every night of the week in January and three or four on the weekends. There is no longer room for some meetings. We have to organize ourselves differently.

Same story for all elected officials, whatever the mandate. MP Anna Pic has at least twenty ceremonies on her agenda. Senator Sébastien Fagnen honors around thirty of them. Madam Departmental Councilor Nathalie Madecgoes to around twenty, too.

An unmissable meeting

“In January, it is indeed our main activitysummarize the elected officials. It's really a marathon . » But everyone assures that they are also essential moments and “always very pleasant”.

“I receive around sixty invitations. I can't honor them all, so I try to go to the towns I haven't been to the previous year. To go as much in the south as in the north of the department,” explains the senator.

It is important to cover the entire territory of our mandate, to hear the various concerns of residents in order to be able to respond to them.

He thus notes areas of concern common to large cities and smaller communities, in the east and in the west: housing and health. “We obviously take advantage of these moments to discuss and these two issues regularly come up on the table,” assures Sébastien Fagnen.

Nathalie Madec also takes advantage of these moments to discuss the daily worriesand more personal. “Here, we are told about fiber connection problems. There, those of the college premises. Here again, we wonder about the work on departmental road 22. We try to answer all these questions or to unravel the problem when necessary. It's important to meet people, it's part of the job of an elected official. »

An always different speech

To be as close as possible to the residents, the elected officials of La Hague also have a technique: serving the petits fours and champagne themselves. “There are always several of us elected to all wishes. And, every year, we take turns serving, this allows us to see everyone, to chat with people easily,” assures Manuela Mahier.

And if the ceremonies follow one another, no question of always sending the same speeches of wishes.

I don't write my speeches for this type of ceremony, but I adapt and try to respond to the speeches that have been given before me. I also try to explain the actions we have taken, the positions we are going to take… It is important to say each time the meaning of what we are doing, the why of the actions undertaken.

For her part, Manuela Mahier continues the speeches, but always with a special note and a nod to the town where she is: “I always change my speech. I try to get the messages across but differently, depending on the municipality, even if some have to be repeated. »

This Sunday, it was to the reception agents and their dose of “patience and good humor” that she paid tribute. Tomorrow, it will be up to others. Perhaps she will still wink at the police and firefighters. They too follow numerous wish ceremonies.

Colonel Duchemin of the Beaumont-Hague fire brigade also has around twenty in his schedule. “It’s always an important moment when we take the time to discuss with elected officials and residents. This allowsmaintain good relationships“, he summarizes.

Always in moderation

Sharing a discussion and a friendly drink, toasting while talking about the worries of everyday life, that's the whole meaning of these ceremonies. But at such a pace, elected officials assure us, we also have to be reasonable about the petits fours and the champagne so as not to burst our pants at the end of January.

“I'm not the most sporty of the elected officials and perhaps one of the most greedy, so I always stay quite far from the buffet table,” admits Sébastien Fagnen. “The diet of an elected official is not often very healthy,” smiles Anna Pic. “When we have so many ceremonies, we can drink to the water,” explain several elected officials. It's all about sharing a good time.

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