Electoral reflections
Newly elected …
Mais non! C’est de la violence! De la part de l'État!
Frédérique, the diligent, knowledgeable and immensely competent secretary to the Mairie* burst into an explosion of French expletives. The target of her invective was my training account. This - I had just found out - was something that had slowly been credited with training funds over the four years I’ve been working in France. And recently, because I’m now a councillor, it boasts an additional credit of €400 to be spent on specific training for my role as an elected representative. Frédérique’s displeasure was voiced at the difficulty we were having at actually signing up for training and spending the credit. It seemed to involve various stages of proof of identity, as well as a process of formal quote and acceptance with the training provider.
The state, according to Frédérique, is guilty of harassing its citizens. 75% of elected officers will surely give up on claiming and booking the training they are entitled to, given the degree of admin required to set it up. Every additional step is deliberately put in just to deter us from claiming our rights. Obviously the faceless officials who designed the multi-stage process have not reckoned with Frédérique’s tenacious administrative powers. The red rag has been raised and she will not be denied. Paperwork - la paperasse - is a national complaint / pastime and it will be beaten into submission, one keystroke at a time.
But the fact remains, there is an institutional understanding in France that councillors need skills to complete their roles, and there is budget set aside to help them acquire those competences. Indeed training is something that is valued not just for councillors but for working people - my general training account contains nearly €2000 to use on improving my skills (if you wonder why France is more productive than the UK, this may be a clue).
France is an interesting and intricate country. The administration is a struggle but it follows the logic of the democracy - if you want people to do something, the support must be there. Training is available, it’s funded and there’s no excuse for not taking it up (particularly if you have the Mayor’s secretary on your side).
19 May 2026
*basically the town hall - the smallest administrative unit in France - every single commune has one whether village or city. Big cities may have arrondissements so that neighbourhoods have local administrations as well as a city mayor. Our village, Fuilla (population 400ish) has a Town Hall, mayor, councillors and a team that deal with village infrastructure and issues. It's linked to other communities within the Conflent area through the Community of Communes to manage wider responsibilities within the area. There are over 500 elected officials across the region.
