He is an elected official now equipped with a tear gas canister out of
“fear”
of violence.
Another who feels
"helpless" in
front of the
"veiled threats"
of an inhabitant.
A third recounting
"several"
physical attacks and
"everyday incivility"
.
160 local councilors in the Ile-de-France region - mayors, deputies, municipal, departmental or regional councilors - declare that they have been victims of at least one act of physical (39 elected), verbal or psychological (158) violence during their mandate, according to a forthcoming study by the Association of Mayors of Île-de-France (Amif), which
Le Figaro
has obtained.
Read also: Mayors increasingly targeted by violence
Almost as many (156) report a recurring feeling of insecurity, out of the 229 elected officials who responded to the survey from August 28 to November 6.
"The use of violence against elected officials exercising their mandate becomes systematic"
, denounces the mayor (formerly Les Républicains, LR) of Evry-Courcouronnes (Essonne), Stéphane Beaudet, president of the association, against a background of very strong increase in threats and attacks targeting them (nearly 1,300 incidents recorded in 2020 by the Ministry of the Interior, against 421 the previous year).
"Apply the sanctions"
Tags on their homes, insults on social networks, physical attacks ...
"Mayors are particularly targeted,"
notes the survey, noting that they are over-represented among elected officials declaring attacks.
"We let off steam on us,"
says the mayor (LR) of Herblay-sur-Seine (Val-d'Oise), Philippe Rouleau, vice-president of Amif.
"
We have become the one-stop-shop to turn to at the slightest difficulty, so we are very exposed
."
Read also: Attacked, a mayor protests against the violence suffered
“We cannot say yes to everyone”
, hence
“frustrations which degenerate into violence”
, adds Laurent Simon, struck last August by a resident for a neighborhood dispute, in his town of Chalifert (Seine- et-Marne), 1200 inhabitants - the elected official, whose rib was broken, was forced to 10 days of temporary work interruption (ITT).
"'We will come and find the mayor in his office', 'if he does not want to receive us, we will force the door': these threats are frequent"
, according to the city councilor,
"but all the actors in public life, nurses to police officers, face violence from society.
"
Read also: Loire-Atlantique: mayors trained by the GIGN to deal with incivility and insecurity
Faced with attacks and threats, the Association of Mayors of Île-de-France calls on the government to
"better inform"
elected officials of their legal protection, reinforced in 2019 by the "Commitment and proximity" law, and to
"apply really the sanctions that the aggressors deserve ”
.
In a circular sent to prosecutors last September, the Ministry of Justice recommended immediate appearances for the most serious acts committed against elected officials.
As for the Ministry of the Interior, it is counting on the “comprehensive security” law, currently being examined in Parliament, to experiment with a fixed fine making it possible to report certain offenses.
