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Meeting the Mayor


VandA
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I can understand the poster introducing themselves as they are wanting to start a business and businesses do concern the local economy. But why anyone else would want to introduce themselves is beyond me.

Lots of Maires in the region I used to live in ended up en taule, was not surprised.
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[quote user="VandA"]In fact she was as charming as she could be…

[/quote]

Exactly.  I am glad that it has been a good experience  -  but am unsurprised by some of the ill-natured and baffled comments which you have received.

When I arrived some twenty years ago to assist a friend in the initial phases of the restoration of a largely derelict château, the very first matter on the agenda  -  at my own insistence, and immediately upon our arrival  -  was to make ourselves known to the maire.  He received our brief visit with evident pleasure and great civility.

The immediate upshot of this contact was that he repeatedly sent his own farmer-sized remorque to remove an initial five or so tons of accumulated debris from the interior of the building.  He also sent one of his men to mow the parc.  These things were done as favours and entirely free of charge.  Rather more unexpectedly he subsequently facilitated the hiring of a harpsichord.  Various other kindnesses followed.

Being interested in the matter myself, I took the trouble to ask him whether 'introducing onself to the maire' was customary and correct.  His answer was that the performance of this courtesy depended entirely on the class background and social sense of the person concerned  -  but that it was in his view a distinctly correct and gracious thing to do.  

More recently, when moving into my present house in a small town, I likewise presented myself to the maire.  The matter was rapidly accomplished and consisted of little more than the presentation of a card and a brief exchange of civilities.  A few weeks later when it became necessary for me to request that a street light should be moved to a different position, this was facilitated by the maire himself and attended to extremely promptly and at no cost to myself.

Since beginning to write this post the doorbell sounded and a lady from a neighbouring commune breezed in unexpectedly to take a cup of coffee and to present me with a copy of her latest book.  I asked her  -  being a young French person with a considerable degree of experience and social eptitude, and an active member of the conseil municipal  -  whether she considered that 'presenting oneself to the maire' was a correct procedure.  Her answer was a most resounding yes  -  both as a matter of common courtesy, and as a ready and practical means of making one's life easier.  That is an up-to-date view from a young, modern, and informed French person.

She remarked, moreover, that her own maire (also a young person), had recently expressed her astonishment that recent arrivals including (I regret to say) Brits, did not appear to consider this courtesy necessary or worth their while.

[quote user="VandA"]And there was me thinking this was 'the thing to do'!

[/quote]

Indeed it is 'the thing to do'  -  and you have done it.  Well done.  And even if this action is not rewarded with with a flow of tangible benefits  -  though I am sure that it will be  -  at the very least you can bask in the glowing satisfaction of having been civil.      

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A few months after we moved into our current home (a town with about 8000 residents), we received an invitation for a soirée at the Mairie for new arrivals. It was attended by at least 150 people and we were treated to a long speech about the importance of sardines to the local economy. He got sardines into every subject! Then we were all presented with a gift of a free cinema ticket and (you've guessed it!) two tins of sardines.

I don't think the Maire would get any work done if he met all the new arrivals individually, although it's obviously different in a tiny, rural commune.
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[quote user="Gengulphus"][quote user="VandA"]In fact she was as charming as she could be…

[/quote]

Exactly.  I am glad that it has been a good experience  -  but am unsurprised by some of the ill-natured and baffled comments which you have received.

When I arrived some twenty years ago to assist a friend in the initial phases of the restoration of a largely derelict château, the very first matter on the agenda  -  at my own insistence, and immediately upon our arrival  -  was to make ourselves known to the maire.  He received our brief visit with evident pleasure and great civility.

The immediate upshot of this contact was that he repeatedly sent his own farmer-sized remorque to remove an initial five or so tons of accumulated debris from the interior of the building.  He also sent one of his men to mow the parcThese things were done as favours and entirely free of charge.  Rather more unexpectedly he subsequently facilitated the hiring of a harpsichord.  Various other kindnesses followed.

Being interested in the matter myself, I took the trouble to ask him whether 'introducing onself to the maire' was customary and correct.  His answer was that the performance of this courtesy depended entirely on the class background and social sense of the person concerned  -  but that it was in his view a distinctly correct and gracious thing to do.  

More recently, when moving into my present house in a small town, I likewise presented myself to the maire.  The matter was rapidly accomplished and consisted of little more than the presentation of a card and a brief exchange of civilities.  A few weeks later when it became necessary for me to request that a street light should be moved to a different position, this was facilitated by the maire himself and attended to extremely promptly and at no cost to myself.

Since beginning to write this post the doorbell sounded and a lady from a neighbouring commune breezed in unexpectedly to take a cup of coffee and to present me with a copy of her latest book.  I asked her  -  being a young French person with a considerable degree of experience and social eptitude, and an active member of the conseil municipal  -  whether she considered that 'presenting oneself to the maire' was a correct procedure.  Her answer was a most resounding yes  -  both as a matter of common courtesy, and as a ready and practical means of making one's life easier.  That is an up-to-date view from a young, modern, and informed French person.

She remarked, moreover, that her own maire (also a young person), had recently expressed her astonishment that recent arrivals including (I regret to say) Brits, did not appear to consider this courtesy necessary or worth their while.

[quote user="VandA"]And there was me thinking this was 'the thing to do'!

[/quote]

Indeed it is 'the thing to do'  -  and you have done it.  Well done.  And even if this action is not rewarded with with a flow of tangible benefits  -  though I am sure that it will be  -  at the very least you can bask in the glowing satisfaction of having been civil.      

[/quote]

So it's simply a question of 'who you know', and oiling the wheels? Self-serving, self satisfied formulaic exchanges worthy of the Freemasons.

This is not 'civility' its is akin to corruption and it disgusts me.

Your post overflows with the snobbery and class conciousness which most of us have left behind, but then we can't hope to buy a "château'

On the other hand there are some of us on good terms with our Maire or Deputé because we can do things for them.

Do you really believe that the Maire of a town of 100, 000 is interested in meeting each immigrant is search of a favour?[:D]

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[quote user="Gengulphus"][quote user="NormanH"]etc.

[/quote]

Haha.  I don't recall saying that I bought a château (and indeed that would be very far from the truth).

But glad all the same to see that you still have a French Fried on your shoulder.

[/quote]

Neither did I..just that those are the circles you seem to move in.

Why are you 'glad'?

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What are the odds of the Mods deleting this insulting post as they did previous ones pointing out the rudeness of this regular poster. Obviously common courtesy and politeness is sneered at by you Norman but to some it is still an important ritual. It's called networking by many and forms the basis of many business exchanges.

And who mentioned meeting the maire of a town of 100 000 ? The OP said a town of 5 000 !

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[quote user="greyman"]What are the odds of the Mods deleting this insulting post as they did previous ones pointing out the rudeness of this regular poster. Obviously common courtesy and politeness is sneered at by you Norman but to some it is still an important ritual. It's called networking by many and forms the basis of many business exchanges.

And who mentioned meeting the maire of a town of 100 000 ? The OP said a town of 5 000 !

[/quote]

Exactly! Business is about profiting from others.

That is a perversion of 'common courtesy and politeness' ...

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[quote user="NormanH"][quote user="Gengulphus"][quote user="VandA"]In fact she was as charming as she could be…
[/quote]
Exactly.  I am glad that it has been a good experience  -  but am unsurprised by some of the ill-natured and baffled comments which you have received.

When I arrived some twenty years ago to assist a friend in the initial phases of the restoration of a largely derelict château, the very first matter on the agenda  -  at my own insistence, and immediately upon our arrival  -  was to make ourselves known to the maire.  He received our brief visit with evident pleasure and great civility.

The immediate upshot of this contact was that he repeatedly sent his own farmer-sized remorque to remove an initial five or so tons of accumulated debris from the interior of the building.  He also sent one of his men to mow the parcThese things were done as favours and entirely free of charge.  Rather more unexpectedly he subsequently facilitated the hiring of a harpsichord.  Various other kindnesses followed.

Being interested in the matter myself, I took the trouble to ask him whether 'introducing onself to the maire' was customary and correct.  His answer was that the performance of this courtesy depended entirely on the class background and social sense of the person concerned  -  but that it was in his view a distinctly correct and gracious thing to do.  

More recently, when moving into my present house in a small town, I likewise presented myself to the maire.  The matter was rapidly accomplished and consisted of little more than the presentation of a card and a brief exchange of civilities.  A few weeks later when it became necessary for me to request that a street light should be moved to a different position, this was facilitated by the maire himself and attended to extremely promptly and at no cost to myself.

Since beginning to write this post the doorbell sounded and a lady from a neighbouring commune breezed in unexpectedly to take a cup of coffee and to present me with a copy of her latest book.  I asked her  -  being a young French person with a considerable degree of experience and social eptitude, and an active member of the conseil municipal  -  whether she considered that 'presenting oneself to the maire' was a correct procedure.  Her answer was a most resounding yes  -  both as a matter of common courtesy, and as a ready and practical means of making one's life easier.  That is an up-to-date view from a young, modern, and informed French person.

She remarked, moreover, that her own maire (also a young person), had recently expressed her astonishment that recent arrivals including (I regret to say) Brits, did not appear to consider this courtesy necessary or worth their while.

[quote user="VandA"]And there was me thinking this was 'the thing to do'!
[/quote]
Indeed it is 'the thing to do'  -  and you have done it.  Well done.  And even if this action is not rewarded with with a flow of tangible benefits  -  though I am sure that it will be  -  at the very least you can bask in the glowing satisfaction of having been civil.      


[/quote]

So it's simply a question of 'who you know', and oiling the wheels? Self-serving, self satisfied formulaic exchanges worthy of the Freemasons.
This is not 'civility' its is akin to corruption and it disgusts me.
Your post overflows with the snobbery and class conciousness which most of us have left behind, but then we can't hope to buy a "château'
On the other hand there are some of us on good terms with our Maire or Deputé because we can do things for them.
Do you really believe that the Maire of a town of 100, 000 is interested in meeting each immigrant is search of a favour?[:D]

[/quote]

 

Hi Norm,

 

Looks like you’ve abandoned your usual high standards here methinks.  Now I am not looking for a fight, but the above is quite a serious over-reaction to Gengulphus’ post, I would say.  You might of course be correct and Gengulphus was actually trying, in best Masonic style, to curry favour.  But masons have no need of this and would not post about their “successes” on a site like this.

 

The mairies I have been to have each made me/us welcome, with no prospect of quid-pro-quo entering into matters.  But I am not going to argue from the particular to the general, as seems to be highly prevalent sometimes.

 

And let me add, I am a much greater cynic than you will ever be.  Your post doesn’t come over at all well for me.  Never mind eh ?

 

Cheers from Ernie

 

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Ah, ernie, any post after 2130hrs should be ignored, I reckon. Our Normie lives in a big place, we in small places. I at least knew the prison where the maire was being held, and perhaps you did too, but Normie lives in a barrel and can't afford the bus fare to get to the prison, so let's be tolerant of an old man who begs for favours with a walking stick at the bus stop!
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[quote user="NormanH"]

Exactly! Business is about profiting from others.

That is a perversion of 'common courtesy and politeness' ...

[/quote]

Maybe in many Marxist states but in our civilised capitalist society I think the two often go hand in hand. Presumably if you have ever worked you were happy to take your weekly wage ? and still be polite and courteous at your job interview ? Or am I expecting too much ? All the OP was doing was being polite in enquiring if the maire could assist them in earning a living whilst their business could possibly contribute to the local economy.

Maybe the concept is too middle class.[Www]

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From two recent experiences I have had the maires were interested in growing their communities. One was all over us like a rash when we expressed an interest in moving to the village and putting our son in the local school. Another was interested to learn about our business plans - presumably because we would contribute taxes and maybe bring people in to the village or maybe he was just being polite. In neither case were they at all put out at spending a few minutes of their time chatting, in fact the former phoned an estate agent so we could be shown a house in the village. Courteous exchanges with possible mutual benefits but not exclusively for that.

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[quote user="woolybanana"]Ah, ernie, any post after 2130hrs should be ignored, I reckon. Our Normie lives in a big place, we in small places. I at least knew the prison where the maire was being held, and perhaps you did too, but Normie lives in a barrel and can't afford the bus fare to get to the prison, so let's be tolerant of an old man who begs for favours with a walking stick at the bus stop![/quote]

 

[quote user="woolybanana"]Ah, ernie, any post after 2130hrs should be ignored, I reckon. Our Normie lives in a big place, we in small places. I at least knew the prison where the maire was being held, and perhaps you did too, but Normie lives in a barrel and can't afford the bus fare to get to the prison, so let's be tolerant of an old man who begs for favours with a walking stick at the bus stop![/quote]

 

Well, wooly man, it IS after the appointed hour, so I take it my post must be included here too.

 

In fact, I don’t seem to be able to make head nor tail of some of the posts, I simply assume they were all written after the appointed hour.

 

Anasamarrerafack, some of my finest postings on other sites have been composed after that significant time.  Only problem is the site overseers didn’t always understand them.

 

This one’s getting too complex for me, or maybe I haven’t had enough petit rouge (s) yet.

 

Bonne nuit

 

ernie

 

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How do I know they weren't put out ? Because they instigated the conversations. In the first case we had just gone to collect a bottle of wine we had won in the village raffle and she could just have handed it over with a smile and au revoir. Even politicians are entitled to courtesy (usually). And if they are just 'in it' for political gain then fair play to the OP for playing the same game.

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I for one have every intention of presenting my self to our local Mayor, they are there for there community and I want to integrate and become part of that comunity.  Not wishing to start a racist debate but there are minorities in the UK that have been criticized and are to some extent marginalised by the indigenous population because of their unwillingness to fully integrate, this will not be me.

I am wanting to start a business and to my mind my business's depends on my local communes success, I am really looking forward to the challenges of trying to bring more people into a small village and improving things for others.  This will help others in my community and hopefully I will benefit too.  As a side note, we in the UK don't seem to have much of a community or any community spirit.

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[quote user="Chancer"]

[quote user="VandA"]Hi, We have made an appointment to meet the Mayor of our local town (pop. c5000) tomorrow and are wondering what one is supposed to say at these meetings! [/quote]

I could understand the Maire asking this question but you surely must have had a reason to ask for the meeting so that should be your point of discussion.

You could perhaps ask is there anything else that as new arrivals and etrangers we should be aware of?

[/quote]

Maybe the reason is connected to gaining the interest free loan the OP is proposing on the Eco Pret,  thread.

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