The distinction may seem byzantine, but it is important. On the occasion of the 104th Congress of Mayors of France, which is being held from Monday November 21 to Thursday November 24 in Paris, the President of the Republic has chosen to go to the Mayors’ “Salon” on Wednesday November 23, but not at the “congress”, which is nevertheless held a few tens of meters from the first. The “show” brings together 1,200 exhibitors, companies or organizations working in the public sphere. The “congress” is the political body of the event, where the organizer, the Association of Mayors of France (AMF), holds its debates and receives many ministers.
“There is no obligation for the president to come to the congress of mayors every year, but that he is a stone’s throw away and does not come is surprising to say the least”regrets André Laignel, Deputy First Vice-President of the AMF, referring to “lack of tact”. “There are the businesses and the merchants, and then there are the mayors gathered to work. A choice has been madehe notes, scathingly.
At the Elysée, we highlight Emmanuel Macron’s desire to exchange directly with elected officials. If the Head of State gave a speech in 2021, it was “at the same time to take stock of the commitments made during the previous five-year term” and D’“open the field of projects” of the second, specifies his entourage.
“Depression in the Face of Difficulty”
This year, “a different political choice” was made, to have “a much more direct and stronger contact with those who first make the territories”. “The exercise of the congress is a more formal exercise since it is often a speech. There are fewer exchanges”, underlines the Presidency of the Republic. Mr. Macron will therefore not deliver a speech, but will wander through the spans of the “living room”, followed by a reception at the Elysee Palace for a thousand mayors on Wednesday evening.
For Jacques Marie, unlabeled mayor of Benerville-sur-Mer (Calvados), the presence of the President of the Republic at the congress could have been “a good opportunity to raise the concerns of the population”
After a first five-year term marked by tense relations between the Head of State and local elected officials, the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne – who will close the congress of mayors on Thursday, November 24, with a speech –, attaches to establish a real dialogue. The AMF, moreover, recognizes this. However, concern remains strong. “The state of mind of the mayors is either depression in the face of the absolutely extraordinary difficulty we are facing today, or it is angernotes André Laignel. And often they oscillate between one and the other. We have never known such a difficult situation for communities. »
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