“Village mayors are sacrificed”

The pressure became too much. The political climate too tense. Marie Cauwho in 2020 became the first transgender mayor in France at the head of an “apolitical” list, announces that she resigns from his mandate as city councilor from the small village of Tilloy-lez-Marchiennes (North). A decision aimed at provoking a “political reaction” to further support rural mayors, she declared Wednesday January 15, 2025 at theAFP.

Complaints without effect, rural mayors “sacrificed”

Her resignation has been official since Tuesday, the elected official having, with “great relief”, signed the document notifying the prefect of her decision. “The straw that broke the camel's back was that I filed a third complaint which was not followed up on at all,” explained Ms. Cau to theAFP. These complaints, for defamation and verbal threats “Aggravate the problem, they excite people and, since they are not treated, give them a feeling of impunity,” she said.

“The mayors of rural villages are sacrificed (…). The workload is enormous, the compensation is ridiculous and you are insulted and defamed,” she lamented, fearing an epidemic of renunciations of city councilors in the next municipal elections next year.

In his eyes, “all rural mayors complain about it”: the life of mayor is “at the expense of his health, his professional and personal life”.

A “toxic political climate” in the municipal council

In a letter distributed to the inhabitants of Tilloy-les-Marchiennes, Marie Cau also mentioned other reasons for her departure, including the appointment to ministerial positions of “openly transphobic figures” and the pension reformwhich forces her to consider another job to ensure her “financial security”.

She also invoked a “particularly toxic climate” within the municipal council of his municipality.

Ms. Cau also accused the Zero Net Artificialization (ZAN) law of being “ill-suited to rural municipalities”, and of turning against mayors, “seen as responsible for government decisions”.

A call to “decolonize” local authorities under Barnier

In November, angry at the budget cuts then planned by Prime Minister Michel Barnier, the mayors of France called for “decolonizing” local authorities, increasingly under the supervision of the State according to them.

According to a study by the Association of Mayors of France (AMF) published in November, 83% of mayors believe that their mandate is “useful” for healthand 86% suffer or have suffered from sleep disorders.

The Sciences Po Political Research Center (Cevipof) has recorded 450 resignations per year over the period 2020-2023, compared to 350 during the previous term.

Source: ©AFP

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