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What
happens in the Conseil Municipal? I
have been a Conseiller Municipal for nearly 10 years now, and I’m
often asked what actually happens. Well, here goes……..
To begin with,
I was flattered to be invited to stand on the Mayor’s list, following
a vacancy that had occurred. Although our village has always had a `non-political’
council (i.e. neither Socialist nor right-wing direction) the Mayor was
keen to have an election with a single list, (his own) so as to avoid
any unnecessary argument with the odd freelance candidate.
At the last
minute, a competing list of candidates emerged, making scurrilous allegations
of lack of effort by the previous incumbents, lack of attention to people’s
grievances, no voice for the young, etc etc, although as it turned out,
we were all elected in the first ballot.
At the first
meeting of the Conseil, the Mayor is elected, by secret ballot. Although
in our case, we were all part of his list, nevertheless, anybody has the
right to stand as Mayor, and it is the Conseil who appoints him.
Then down to
business.
The vagaries
of the electoral calendar being what they are, the first item which has
to be fixed is the budget of the commune for the year This is because
elections happen in March, and the budgets have to be submitted and signed
off by April.
Robin and Paddy Fenton
There
is little scope for major changes, as the majority of the financing of
a commune comes from the `Dotation Générale d’Etat’
or direct state grant -- a small commune like ours (183 people) could
never hope to manage all its affairs just on its own taxes raised.
Next, there
are projects to be considered – re-roofing the council-owned shop
and bar, repairing the porch on the Salle des Fêtes, or refitting
the kitchen according to the latest norms. What is surprising about these
schemes is the amount of state money which is readily forthcoming to finance
them; a loan is arranged for, say, 50%, and the remainder is frequently
funded by the department or the Region.
After the serious
items, the meeting moves on to any other business…….
Here, the `green’
teacher cum mountainbike rider raises again the question of something
being done about the state of the commune’s paths; the self-employed
barber complains that it’s his taxes which are paying for the teacher’s
retirement at 59; the lorry driver/roadbuilder gives us his wisdom on
why the bottom road near the river is cracking up yet again; the chatterboxes
and the secretary all gossip about so-and-so’s dad’s brother
who’s got cancer/hernia/gout/a headache; and the chap plotting to
become the next Mayor says nothing, nothing, nothing.
To help matters
along, everyone is referred to by their nickname, so a newcomer doesn’t
have any idea who is being talked about. And, I should add, for those
who haven’t attended French meetings before, all of this takes place
simultaneously, and quite a lot of it in patois, with the Mayor taking
the role of referee and scorekeeper……..
Finally, after
some three hours, the end of the evening is reached. At this point the
`social part’ begins; out come bottles of sparkling wine and biscuits,
and the chit chat continues, until those who really do have to start in
the morning (the lorry driver is leaving at 6 a.m. for Barcelona) decide
enough is enough, and the meeting fizzles out. Until the next time....
Robin
Fenton lives the French life in the Dordogne. You can experience a taste
of his region by being a guest at his holiday property. Forgebasse Holiday
Rentals
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