These healed mayors of Covid-19 who had to adapt their management

They are called the "sentries of the Republic", and they too have suffered from coronavirus. Many mayors have had covid-19, sometimes severely to the point of being hospitalized. All are certain to have been infected during the end of the municipal election campaign, or even during the first round, on March 15, two days before the start of confinement.

For weeks, they had to break with the life of their commune and cut ties with their citizens, yet so precious and usual a fortiori in villages and small towns. "Physically, I was unable to take care of anything, I was constantly out of breath," says Jean-François Legrand, councilor of Houplines (North).

Back with a fanfare

In Mouthier-Haute-Pierre (Doubs), Romuald Maugain was hospitalized for almost a month, including seventeen days in a coma. When he returned by ambulance on April 28, despite a light rain, dozens of people were waiting for him by the roadside, cheering and waving tricolor flags. "When you have been mayor and you have been happy for twelve years, it is heart-warming to say that the inhabitants also look happy," testified a month later the 49-year-old councilor, elected since 2008. "I also received hundreds and hundreds of messages of sympathy and support, I did not expect it at all," he adds, still very moved.

During his absence, his assistants, with whom he has worked for six years, managed the commune, along with the rest of the municipal staff. His wife regularly gave news to the inhabitants, via a contact list by SMS or by email. Because everyone quickly learned of the ordeal Romuald Maugain was undergoing. "It is a small village, everything is known very quickly," says the man who was re-elected in the first round.

Romuald Maugain was elected mayor in 2008 and re-elected twice / DR  

Different situation in Houplines, 9,000 inhabitants and all confined to their homes for almost two months. There, "nobody noticed anything," says Jean-François Legrand. This 52-year-old music teacher had no intention of speaking to his constituents anyway, for the sake of discretion. Many learned about it by reading an article in the regional daily La Voix du Nord on April 21. Remained confined to his home for almost a month, he is slowly recovering from the disease and has not yet recovered all his energy.

Trust the services of the town hall

During these weeks when he fought against fever, loss of taste and fatigue, in the company of his nursing wife and one of his sons, it was the city's director general of services who "held the House ". Guillaume Deberdt, who himself admits that he is "not at all identified" by the inhabitants, has known the mayor for fourteen years. With the hundred municipal employees under his direction, they set up school reception for the children of caregivers and other professionals who have to work, as well as a meal delivery system for isolated or vulnerable residents. "We also communicated daily on social networks, in particular concerning the masks, and I made, each week, a small logbook of confinement on what had happened in the commune," he said.

"I really appreciated the reaction of the services which have always continued to run when everything stopped," said the mayor, who physically returned to his town hall in late April.

Jean-François Legrand, mayor of Houplines / DR  

In order to "reach those who are not connected and who do not necessarily read the local press", Sébastien Maure and his municipal team have published a "specific Covid document" sent by post to the 12,000 inhabitants of La Roche-sur-Foron (Haute-Savoie). In forced teleworking for several weeks after having spent four days "at the bottom of the bed" just after the first round of municipal elections, the mayor has placed great faith in his first assistant. "Everything stopped during confinement so there was little to deal with. But we had to anticipate the recovery fairly quickly and plan a set of measures to be taken, when we had no information, ”adds the councilor, referring in particular to the question of wearing a mask.

"Delegate more"

The function was already heavy before covid-19. Three months earlier, Romuald Mougain also wanted to stop. Like many mayors, at the beginning of 2020, he did not intend to run again, a little tired after twelve years in office. Finally, "when I saw that there was no candidate, the other elected officials said to me: if you leave as mayor we leave with you". Re-elected, then fell seriously ill, this experience and the reception reserved by the inhabitants on his return finally reassured him. Now, "we see things a little differently". "There were a lot of things that I did alone, there, the idea is to delegate more", develops the man who went from two to three assistants to administer Mouthier-Haute-Pierre.

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Before setting out on a new mandate, Sébastien Maure has yet to overcome one last obstacle. In its small town of La Roche-sur-Foron, as in just under 5,000 municipalities, a second round must be organized on June 28. Three candidates are in a pocket square.

But the mayor fears a "strong abstention". "It is not necessarily too early in relation to the virus, especially since we now have enough health protection equipment, but I think it is in relation to the fact that people do not have the intention to plunge back into the countryside, "he believes, also fearing many departures on vacation this last weekend in June. The elected official also wants to have a "special thought for the colleagues beaten in the first round and who had to manage the crisis". For all leavers, elected or not, it was indeed necessary to continue to administer the city while waiting to officially pass the torch.