why did the mayor of Périgueux step back?

Delphine Labail is stepping back from her role as mayor of Périgueux for several months. In a press release, she describes “the effects of significant professional burnout, which endangers both her health and her family balance.” Its opposition denounces significant dysfunctions in its way of managing the city.

She says she is exhausted by the political fight “which, unfortunately, remains more difficult and trying when you are a woman”. Delphine Labail describes the reasons for her decision in a “surprise” press release published on the evening of Friday, December 13. It is not a resignation, indicates the elected official, but a withdrawal of her mandate for several months.

The mayor of Périgueux has decided to step down “in conscience and responsibility” for several months. “Every day, every hour, every second since 2020 has been used to change the lives of residents and to make Périgueux a more united, more attractive and more ecological city. I have exhausted myself in this task.”

Today – without fear of making it public – I feel the effects of significant professional burnout, which endangers both my health and my family balance.

Delphine Labelles,

Mayor of Périgueux

Those around her speak of burn-out linked to several projects she has been carrying out since her election in 2020. The elected official is currently on sick leave.

“She’s not doing very well. indicates his first deputy, Emeric Lavitola who is preparing to take over the reins of town hall. Being elected means reconciling all personal and professional difficulties. She is exhausted and devotes herself to her health and her loved ones.”

“Personally, I wish him to get back on his feet.” Antoine Audi is not surprised by the decision of Delphine Labails. “For months, observers, collaborators and people who attend public events have noticed signs of fatigue”says the opposition elected official, former mayor, beaten in 2020 by Delphine Labail.
For the former mayor of Périgueux, the task is “abundant, but not complicated when you have management experience and know how to delegate.”

What emerges is that Delphine Labail did not delegate a lot and that she was interested in all the details.

Antoine Audi,

Former mayor of Périgueux and elected opposition official

“She also speaks of a fight in her press release, but managing a city is not a fight: we are in construction precisely. She has indeed exhausted herself. She was a bitter opponent between 2014 and 2020, always in the fight”, remembers Antoine Audi.

On this question of very centralized governance, François Carême, former EELV deputy, agrees. It was because of this that he resigned last spring. “Delphine Labail doesn’t know how to delegate. I was uncomfortable, she didn’t trust me, I had no autonomy as her deputy. She doesn’t know how to manage human relationships, it’s always in tensions and it is common knowledge.” The resigning elected official is surprised that “his entourage did not react before”.

François Carême announces that he will attend the next municipal council. “Is its withdrawal temporary or permanent?” A question that the former deputy will not fail to ask the majority team which is recovering from an explosive situation.

She was forced to withdraw, according to rumors from well-placed people.

François Carême,

former EELV deputy to the city of Périgueux

Did Delphine Labail withdraw on her own or was she pushed by her team? The opposition elected official openly questions this, specifying that the rate of absenteeism is very high at town hall. “There have been three general directors of technical services in four years, that actually raises some questions. Delphine Labail is someone who is emotional.”

For his part, Antoine Audi also mentions the result of an organizational audit that Delphine Labail would have had in her hands, around ten days ago. “80 employees, out of the 600 full-time employees in the city, were questioned about working conditions. This audit apparently points the finger at its governance,” advances Antoine Audi while admitting not having read the document. “No one was aware, it was never mentioned in the municipal council even though this audit carried out by the Synopsis RH firm cost taxpayers 40,000 euros!”

Antoine Audi will participate in the next municipal council meeting on Wednesday December 18 and intends to ask to see the supposedly damning report.

Michel Cadet, right-wing opposition politician and vice-president of finance for the city, also denounces the situation. “As a general practitioner, I sympathize with her suffering. I have a lot of empathy for her. It’s a difficult job. The only criticism: she has concentrated a very important burden on herself. She does not delegate not”also regrets the opposition elected official who is also worried about the impact of his management on city staff.

“The repercussions are enormous on the staff. This year, there are 37 days of sick leave per agent over a year, compared to 23 days when she arrived. The pressure is significant. And there are 6,000 days of sick leave long-term. And on a long-term work stoppage, the share of burn-out is significant. The audit carried out on working conditions is very unfavorable!

Another element that may have played a role in its withdrawal: management.out of control” city ​​finances. “I have been warning about the Périgueux budget for several months”, assures Michel Cadet. The elected official details the city’s accounts: “the budget is 80 million euros, investments between 8 and 12 million and loans between 0 and 4 million depending on the year. But in 2024, investments increase to 27 million and loans are 15 million”, he worries.

Périgueux’s budgets are exploding. The duration to repay our debt has increased from six to twelve years. Périgueux is on the verge of being placed under supervision!

Michel Cadet,

elected opposition official in Périgueux

According to him, Mayor Delphine Labail and her deputies have never really communicated the costs of several major projects such as the stadium, the André-Boissière school or the future amplified music room. “The work was poorly evaluated. It’s opaque, he comments. There is a big problem with controlling public spending and a sort of headlong rush on the part of the mayor.”

A financial situation that Michel Cadet brought to the attention of the regional audit chamber and the prefect last September. “We’re going into the wall, he concludes. For me, his deputies are also all responsible for the municipal financial situation, they could not not know.”

Overall, I find certain comments and positions unbearable, it is unworthy in view of the overall and necessary commitment of elected officials.

Emeric Lavitola

first deputy at the town hall of Périgueux

The first deputy, Émeric Lavitola, promised to answer questions during the next municipal council meeting on Wednesday December 18. “There are a certain number of files that I have been able to observe, I believe that with all the elected representatives of the majority, we are able to continue the work accomplished by 2026”, he assures. However, the deputy denounces “opportunism” of the opposition. “You have a mayor who is withdrawing, is it time for a trial? I don’t think so,” he retorts, criticizing “the ambitious who lack humanity.