Half a term, and then goes away? About 50 deputies, including twenty members of the majority, are candidates for the municipal elections of the next 15 and 22. But the law on the non-cumulation of mandates, voted in 2014 and entered into force in 2017, now prohibits them from combining their parliamentary function with that of mayor or deputy mayor. In other words: the deputies who will be elected at the end of the ballot of March 15 and 22 will have to leave the hemicycle immediately, if they wish to exercise the head of a town hall.
Some would like to soften this non-cumulation of mandates, which MP LREM Sonia Krimi does not hesitate to describe as "big bullshit from the Socialist Party [majority in 2014, Editor's note]". "I realize how complicated it is to understand the issues in the field when you are not elected local", points out the one who is running for the town hall of Le Havre.
A bill to ease the non-cumulation
MPs Benoît Simian and Jean-Bernard Sempastous, both members of the majority, had proposed last year to soften the law by excluding small towns from its scope. In their draft text, a deputy could thus also be mayor if the municipality in which he is elected has less than 9000 inhabitants.
However, their proposal was repeatedly rejected. "In rural areas, the cumulation for a deputy-mayor or for a senator-mayor is a natural equation, to avoid the risk of disconnection with the territories," insists Benoît Simian. who regrets having faced "many brakes".
Emmanuel Macron himself had nevertheless paved the way a year ago, in the midst of the Yellow Vests crisis. "Should we allow local mandates, at least in certain proportions, without being in the top executives, perhaps?" It is up to you and the parliamentarians to have this debate, "said the head of state at the launch of the great debate in Grand Bourgtheroulde (Eure), on January 15, facing an assembly of mayors. Several ministers had added, judging for example that "the question undoubtedly deserves to be asked". Enough to generate ideas among some parliamentarians. “We have seen the effects of non-cumulation: many deputies are absent from the field. However, in the crisis of confidence we are currently experiencing, the best response is proximity to the inhabitants, ”judges Ludovic Pajot, of the National Rally.
"Unimaginable to come back to it in the current context"
Conversely, many other elected officials consider it necessary to maintain the non-cumulation, campaign promise of François Hollande in 2012. Especially since it is always possible to be a simple city councilor and deputy. “I think it is not possible to reconcile the two for a question of timetable. A mayor must be present in his commune and close to his citizens. If you spend three or four days in Paris, that leaves you very little free time, "argues socialist Gisèle Biémouret, ready to leave the Assembly in May in the event of an election in Condom (Gers). "It would be unimaginable to come back to it in the current context of mistrust vis-à-vis elected officials", decides, categorically, an elected LREM. Socialist Christophe Bouillon, who does not “regret” his anti-multiple vote in 2014, also judges that “going back on it is not in tune with the times”. "But we must give more prerogatives to MPs," argues the parliamentarian.
Benoît Simian and his colleagues who advocate a relaxation plan to take advantage of a new parliamentary “niche” to re-introduce their bill. But it will be “not before the municipal elections, especially since the Parliament is congested”, regrets the elected LREM.
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In the meantime, if he is elected mayor next March, each deputy will have to leave his place to his deputy ... on condition of convincing him. Otherwise, a by-election will be held. "There is no substitute substitute," smiles Christophe Bouillon, vying for the town hall of Barentin (Seine-Maritime). The deputy already warned his, Bastien Coriton, that he felt "a little annoyed". “Before, it was the grail of being an MP. There he is asking questions, ”added the elected official. And the consequences of not holding multiple offices would not stop there: being himself mayor of Rives-en-Seine (Seine-Maritime), Bastien Coriton will have to, if he sits in Parliament, give up his local mandate.
