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Elections Municipal


PeterCD
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I think 3 hours sleep is enough of an excuse to account for spelling mistakes. Strangely enough my French colleagues and friends are far more sympathetic and more importantly supportive.

Well done to those that took the plunge and have offerred their service. Good luck

 

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[quote user="Catalpa"] there is one place remaining which needs to be decided by second ballot next week.  [/quote]

Please could you tell us what happens next in the above circumstances.  Will we receive a new list for Sunday?  Thanks Kate.

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Thanks Lisleoise.  Yesterday we received a letter from the opposing list who have gained the majority of seats, they are now asking that we vote on Sunday for a candidate of theirs whom they appear to have pre-selected, enclosed was a small slip of paper with his name on.  We have heard nothing from the list sortant, perhaps because the mayor did not get elected.  It is possible that they are now no longer interested in the last available place or should there be similar slips for them available at the voting hall on Sunday?  Thanks Kate.
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They may provide slips or you can write the names of those you want to vote for on the form - it depends on how many places are left (if you write more names than there are places available, your vote is not valid). The rules are slightly different too according to the population of the commune. We've already made the slips for our neighbour - the slips have to be a certain size - in the hope that he will be voted into the remaining place in our very small commune, alongside Judie who got enough votes in the first round to ensure her place.
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I have been wanting to reply to this posting for ages but after an absence my password would not work etc etc. 

Anyway I am another name to add to the list of europeans who have been elected to the Conseil Municipal. Didn't we all do well, do we have a total of members of this forum who have been elected?  In our village of only 110 souls we had a very big turnout with even very old and infirm people being driven 40 Km to vote and another arriving from Paris preferring to vote in person.  Embarassingly I received the highest number of votes on our list, which people are talking about miles away....I have to buy the champagne tonight!!! The count was great fun with many tactical votes and some amusing ones.  There were two lists but ours was elected outright on the 9th.  Out of our 11 we have 4 women and 2 europeans, and a very good mix of occupations and ages. We have all been congratulated as being the most refreshing new council for at least 50 years as the village was always split between two old families who were always (and still are) at war with each other.

So Vive la différence and let's get down to some work.....after the champagne!

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well done you! its ok for you lot - our outgoing? Mator 'illegally' declared one of his team 'elected' thats been overturned and we are doing it all again on Sunday 1st eleven past the post make the council! Dawn is back in the running, although she got the fewest votes on our list, she got more than the all french 3rd list! See the blog at http://gerard.donzeau.over-blog.fr/ and the village blog at http://vieux-mareuil.over-blog.com/

it all happens here!

Steve

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Extraordinary Meeting last evening to elect Maire and Adjoints, love the way they run committees here, so quaint.  All went as expected - steered democracy has always worked of course.  It was the Commissions that threw me - so many of them and people wanting me to be on them with them, including some of the sortant/sortante members who seem to have the bizarre idea I may know what I'm doing.

Anyway, I ended up as suppleant for Social Services, one of two primaire for electricity (very important according the the old hands, big arguments going on about this in this area), leading on communication for the Commune, on the Fete Committee and also solo on the road safety committee so I can use my experience from the problems my chum had here a couple of years ago and so that I can help sort out the problems with the British who have dodgy cars in the Canton and across the Department.

And at the end of the evening we arranged to go to dinner together, the date of the next meeting and the new Maire brought out the champagne, canapes and nice choccie bikkie things.

I was asked several times whether people were speaking too fast for me - there are three people on the Council with excellent English so they made sure that I sat next to one of them but thankfully managed to understand the greater part of what was being said until they all started talking together, difficult to disentangle the conversations then.

But for my first meeting I think I did ok, they're obviously happy to have a European on the Council and they think I'm with it enough to do some of the harder jobs in the Commune.

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Glad it all went well for you Tony.

We had a pre-meeting last night to sort out/discuss commissions and maire/adjoint elections etc. At 10 this morning we have our first Conseil Municipal at which there could be about 100 spectators to watch the vote of the maire (nothing to do with the aperos we're providing after!!).  I'm all apero'd out, every night for the last fortnight, last ones tomorrow morning for the team and their conjoints.

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We voted in the new maire and four adjoints earlier today and then placed a wreath at the war memorial by the youngest councillor as is the tradition here. Next we rang the bells to announce the new maire and then retired for apperos before everyone (apart from me and another lady who have both had previous engagements) went off for the celebratory meal at a cost of 35€ each. I reclaimed my usual chair in the council chamber too before anyone could get it.
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We had our first meeting to appoint the Maire, adjoint and members of the various commissions. I'm on a commission for the elderly (repas a domicile and aides ménageres), the social commission and the cemetery commission which is apparenly not a popular dossier. The newly appointed Maire then appointed me 'president' of the conseil and just as I was beginning to feel rather pleased with myself, she told me the post always goes to the oldest conseiller!!!!! Which is perhaps why I got the cemetery commission.....! No apéro afterwards, everyone was back to the vines.
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  • 3 weeks later...

Be interesting to know how many of us are now taking an active part in the communities we have chosen to live in.  I too have now been elected (responsibilities include Buildings and Roads, Schools and Education (have two children at the local college who started school at 2.5 yrs), and flowers and gardens).  Unlike some of the posts above, there has been little leeway shown towards my lack of understanding of either the system or the language so far, which is a bit of a surprise to me.

So far, its all interesting stuff - budget meeting last week at two days notice, and every meeting ends with a meal or drink.  Church today for the "Congrès Cantonal des Anciens Combattants" with visiting Senator from Paris, village "band" and a Vin d'honneur.  Will my liver last the full 6 years?

 

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You don't get a choice but to take part in commissions either as titulaire or délegué and as for language leeway,again depends on your fellow elus. I was shown no mercy but at the same time I spoke french and understood most of what was going on, now seven years later and another six years to do,its got a lot easier. However I got an uncontrollable burst of giggles last week at our reunion because for ages I couldn't place whom the newly elected maire reminded me of and then bingo, he is a younger but spitting version of Seth Armstrong from Emmerdale down to the handlebar turned up moustache etc. Here in this dept there are many courses lasting three hours going on from this month for any newly elected elu to go along and pick up some info on different council activities,isn't free though - 40€
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Our lot assume that I understand everything.  The French isn't a problem but all the acronyms and the system are.  Many of the systems seem labyrinthine to me with so many layers of responsibility 'Communauté de communes', 'Pays', 'Région'  'Departement' and conseils for this, that and the other.  Sometimes you have to ask so many people's input that it surprising anything gets done at all.  The other élus are a friendly bunch and there are 2 young French folk who seem to need even more explanations than me, plus one old chap who wouldn't be out of place in Dibley!  I guess it will all fall into place one of these days.
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