-
Helmets are not the answer to bad habits on French ski slopes
A reader expresses their thoughts on the debate
-
France’s baby push: Why government efforts to boost births backfire
Columnist Nabila Ramdani argues against state involvement in birth rates and fertility
-
Happy holidays or harsh realities? The truth about living in rural France
Columnist Samantha David examines the contrast between holiday and day-to-day life
Commune complaint in France
Connexion’s interview with Cédric Szabo of the Association des maires ruraux de France (January edition) reads like so many PR pieces allowing lobbies to present their arguments without challenge.
The loi Notre was designed to streamline and improve what is essentially an ancien régime territorial administration. The paroisses of the pre-revolution era were almost entirely renamed as communes, leaving the local landed gentry as “elected representatives”.
Over the 18-plus years we have owned our home, we have had four mayors – all but one were local farmers and the first was also a senator.
Of the current team, seven of the 15 are farmers or have a farmer in their family, with just 18 farmers out of the total of 740 inhabitants. Four have resigned or died and of the remainder, one is British and back in the UK and another never attends meetings.
Communication and consultation are not necessarily part of French rural politics.
Peter MONCREIFFE, by email
