2023-05-06 06:20:10
After more than a year and a half on the popular social network TikTok, François Parolini (DVG) now has more than 13,000 subscribers to to chain… or almost double the population of its small rural town and its 7,000 inhabitants. At 70, the mayor of Itteville (Essonne), elected since 2020, has become a real local star with young people.
“When he walks in the street, whether in Itteville or in the surrounding towns, young people recognize him and come to talk to him directly, that happened very little before. They regularly tell us that they are very touched by the mayor’s effort to understand their codes and love when he hijacks their trends (trendy videos) “, assures Laëtitia Colonna, his first assistant, at the origin of the creation of the account.
“The objective is not to create a buzz but to capture attention”
It is this bond of proximity that the chosen one sought to set up from the beginning of his chain. “My objective is not to create a buzz but to really highlight my city and above all to capture the attention of this youth who unfortunately is not very present at the polls and in municipal councils”, analyzes François Parolini. To achieve this, the mayor does not hesitate to use a lot of humor or even sarcasm to enlighten his listeners on local issues and also to denounce the current political world.
It’s a successful bet since his videos now accumulate several million views and serve as real platforms for exchanges between the municipality and its population. “It’s a way of doing participatory democracy, observes the elected official. Young people also have their say and when you ask a question on TikTok, you get an answer very easily and quickly. »
The town hall also uses TikTok as a tool to develop sometimes bogged down local issues. “For example, we had been asking for a roundabout to be created instead of an extremely dangerous intersection for years, to no avail. Shortly after having published TikTok which made more than 400,000 and 250,000 views, we won our case”, illustrates Laëtitia Colonna.
As for the “haters”, the detractors, there are for sure, but the negative comments do not seem to reach the mayor. “People who think it’s ridiculous, it’s because I talk about things that bother them. But we hope that these new ways of communicating will break down the wall of conventions and push a crystallized political world to its limits,” concludes François Parolini.
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