It is a mobilization which it would have gone well.
But that touched him deeply.
This Saturday morning, a large gathering, bringing together elected officials and residents, was held in front of the doors of the town hall of Saintry-sur-Seine.
At the very place where we can still read insults tagged in black and red ink that directly target the mayor of the town, elected last June, Patrick Rauscher (SE).
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These tags discovered on the night of January 11 to 12 are part of a long list of attacks perpetrated against elected representatives of the majority and municipal employees in recent months.
Burned cars and garbage cans, insults, intimidation, hate speech… “When is this going to end?
asks the mayor.
My family and loved ones are also victims of my commitment.
With my municipal team, we want to alert the public authorities.
Let them realize that the situation in France is serious.
"
70% of Ile-de-France elected officials already victims of attacks
Because Patrick Rauscher is not the only elected official to be regularly taken to task, even threatened.
According to a study carried out by the association of mayors of Ile-de-France (Amif) among 1,200 towns in Ile-de-France, 70% of elected officials indicated that they had already been verbally or physically attacked.
This is the case of Stéphane Beaudet, president of Amif and mayor (SE) of Evry-Courcouronnes.
“I suffered death threats for three years.
Nine times my car has been broken or set on fire.
This necessarily has an impact on our personal commitment, our loved ones.
We must not give up.
We gain a lot more by holding on.
But the State must also take its responsibilities ”, insists the elected official who calls for the establishment of a simple and repressive legal procedure.
Saintry-sur-Seine, January 11, 2021. The town hall and the school of the Park were vandalized during the night from Sunday to Monday./ DR
In the neighboring town of Ris-Orangis, the socialist mayor Stéphane Raffalli systematically files a complaint.
In 2015, shortly after the Bataclan attack, a man came to his office threatening to be "worse than a terrorist".
He will be sentenced to two months in prison.
More recently, during the first round of municipal elections, held on March 15, a resident rushed at him in his van before changing course at the last moment.
He will receive a 5 month contract.
In November 2020, he was threatened with death on social networks, barely a few hours after the tribute paid to Samuel Paty in schools.
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“Many elected officials hesitate to file a complaint.
It must be done systematically, believes Stéphane Raffalli.
The police and the judiciary must fulfill their role.
And no violence is tolerable.
Personally, I never thought of returning my mayor's hat for that.
On the contrary, it galvanizes me.
It's my job to make society more peaceful.
"
Municipal employees regularly taken to task
Yet it is even in happy moments that the situation can quickly get out of hand.
Jean-Marie Vilain, the mayor (Les Centristes) of Viry-Chatillon paid the price last week.
While on his way to the town hall in his vehicle to celebrate a wedding, he is attacked by one of the guests.
In question, a driver taking a forbidden direction.
“I asked him to turn around.
The man behind me got annoyed, got out of his car, and started cursing me violently because he was in a hurry.
Nothing justifies such a reaction.
"
In 2017, he was assaulted by a man who was part of the Traveler community.
While the elected representative intervenes in an occupation on land in the town, a man girdles him, kicks him in the ribs before throwing him to the ground.
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But today, it is for the municipal agents that they worry.
A little while ago, an employee in charge of town planning found his car tagged with a "we will find you".
His fault: to have refused a building permit which did not comply with the local town planning plan of the city.
And the case is not unique.
“At the next municipal council, we will vote for personal protection for an agent.
We do it systematically, says Jean-Marie Vilain.
It is not normal to have to request the presence of a municipal police officer when an employee finishes late.
The difference is that we, elected officials, have chosen our commitment.
They are their work, what keeps them alive.
"
In Saintry, the investigation opened for degradation by dangerous means, degradation of property intended for the public utility and insult to a person holding public authority is still ongoing.
