The president of the Association of Mayors of France (AMF), François Baroin, pays tribute in the
Journal du Dimanche
to the role of mayors in the health crisis, and pleads for the “
territorialization of decisions
” in a France according to him too centralized.
To read also: François Baroin urges the State to be at the "rendezvous of the repair of the country"
The local elected officials “
have been and remain in maneuver from the beginning: they have found masks, generalized the tests, opened the vaccination centers.
The State has accommodated their energy because it no longer has the means on the ground to do many things itself,
”said François Baroin, also LR mayor of Troyes.
“
Their word has not been taken into consideration by the State at the national level as well as at the local level.
This crisis has confirmed the excess of centralism from which our country still suffers
, ”he continues.
City councilor of a medium-sized city, François Baroin judges that these have suffered from a "
massive departure from activities (which) put them at risk of devitalization
".
However, their efforts to adapt "
reinforce their major assets: proximity and fluidity
".
“
The widening territorial divide
”, according to him, “
is that of the offer of services and jobs.
The concentration in urban areas of all facilities, all services and shops, all administrations is a fatal risk for a large part of our territories.
The continuing medical desertification is the most distressing symbol of this failure to offer a minimum base of local services.
"
Read also: Presidential 2022: why François Baroin will not be a candidate
And the elected representative to defend "
the territorialization of decisions
", an idea which "
implies trusting local elected representatives: the measures taken must be adapted to the real situation of each territory.
On numerous occasions, the application of this principle would have made it possible to make life easier for the French without putting their health at risk.
But the dialogue was very difficult and lacked confidence
”.