Letters
France's mairies are both a help and a hindrance
Two readers express their views on local government
The mairie is the first port of call for many issues in French life
Pack-Shot/Shutterstock
To the Editor,
I am in agreement with Nick Inman on the subject of keeping local mairies.
However, there is a fundamental flaw in the French system of local government.
In municipal elections you vote for the maire of your choice. The maire presents a liste of individuals who will become les élus du conseil municipal if that mayoral candidate is elected.
Some others, in a certain proportion from unsuccessful candidates on other lists, will also become élus.
The flaw is that you have no control over who is on the liste. They are not actually elected as individuals in their own right. They are often not even named.
The senior positions in the mairie are then filled from this group, who may be totally incompetent.
None of the élus have any loyalty to a district covered by the mairie – unlike in the UK where the local councillors are elected by ward voters and therefore have a duty to the public in their ward.
I have experience of this system having been a member of my district conseil de quartier.
We were never able to get the attention of an élu in any meaningful way – they had no interest in our quartier because they had not been elected by us. Consequently, our requests were often ignored by the mairie.
During the last two years, three conseils de quartier had to resign en masse because of this. The consequences for local government at grass-roots level are therefore considerable.
Hopefully, in a small village you may know the members of the liste and can hold them to account.
T.D., Finistère
To the Editor,
I also live in a small commune of 130 souls and have a mairie that functions superbly.
I know the maire and secretary personally. They have helped me integrate into every stage of French life. I feel known and very well-supported as an American permanent resident.
I pray daily that they don’t tinker with a system that creates social cohesion.
G.W.O., Charente
Is your mairie a help or a hindrance to your life in France? Share your stories at letters@connexionfrance.com
