It is a hesitation generally followed by questions. "Hello madam, uh, the mayor?" The mayor? How do we say? "When Frédérique Calandra, 57, first magistrate (ex-PS) of the XXth arrondissement of Paris in campaign to try to win a third mandate, greet the voters, it is not rare that they stumble on the defined article . "I don't scold them. I kindly tell them that the titles are feminized and that I prefer the mayor. We win battles better by convincing rather than yelling, "smiles the candidate, who has joined walker Benjamin Griveaux.
The name "mayor", according to her, is now more feminine in the mouths of people. "There are more and more people who talk to me about it, it has become a standard," applauds this "feminist activist". At the municipal council, it may have happened that his opponents of the fairer sex gave him "madam the mayor", just to provoke her. "They take full face then," she warns.
"Mayor" is to be avoided
For a long time now, the dicos have put themselves on the page of uses, considering that the noun from the Latin "major" meaning "larger" is an epicene name, that is to say, usable equally in masculine and feminine. Until last year, the Académie française, reputed to be conservative, considered that the ambassadors of "the" mayor were wrong in gender. In the aftermath of the 2014 municipal elections, she recalled, in a note, that it is a “male name, that the person who exercises this function is a man or a woman” and therefore that one must say “ The mayor chairs the council ”.
But times are changing. In February 2019, the immortals of the Quai Conti voted, by a very large majority, in favor of a feminization of the names of trades but also of functions and titles. "The Academy admits that we now say Madam Mayor," confirms Jean-Mathieu Pasqualini, director of cabinet to the Perpetual Secretary, stressing that the online House Dictionary "will indicate very soon that the noun mayor can be used in the feminine ".
However, according to the institution, "The mayor is the traditional form that there is no reason to proscribe if it is the wish of the interested parties". Among the 17.6% of women who hold the reins of a municipality, some still prefer the masculine. On the other hand, very few advocate the name "mayor" which, according to the French Academy, has "fallen into disuse and only exists in a few regions". This word which, historically, designated the mayor's wife is, on the other hand, very popular in Quebec, in particular in Montreal, directed by Valérie Plante.