The mayor of Estevelles (Pas-de-Calais), elected as a man and engaged in a gender transition journey, obtained this Wednesday the "
support
" of her municipal council, which she had requested to continue her mandate as a woman, she told AFP.
At 63, the mayor (without label) of this town of 2,000 inhabitants thus becomes, she says, the “
first
” transgender mayor to formalize this transition during his term of office.
A decision approved by the city council
Meeting on Wednesday, the municipal council "
renewed its confidence in me
", rejoices the elected official, even if this vote of the council was not required by law.
Of 18 voters, “
14 voted for and four abstained
”.
“
It is a continuity in my life course, in my political course.
Thursday morning, I will present things to the employees of the municipality and I will communicate with the population, and from Friday, I will have my appearance as I wish and I will exercise as the mayor of Estevelles "
, she reacted to the outcome of the vote.
"
For a period, it was resignation that imposed itself on me
", in particular to "
speed things up
", or "
protect
My private life, explained the mayor to AFP.
But “
I am a combative person
”, and “
proud of the investment that I was able to have in this small town, I did not want to abandon it.
I realized that the best solution was to communicate
,” she added.
The civil status change procedure that she started a few weeks ago is still ongoing.
After contacts with the prefecture, the state told her "
that there was no problem
", that it was "
legally possible
" to continue to practice as a woman, she assured .
"
I then chose to solicit the trust of my peers
", in particular to establish "
my legitimacy
".
“
For more than 22 years, I have been at the service of my municipality (…).
Out of transparency, today I feel the need to express a difference that I carry on a personal level
, ”she wrote in a press release signed Estelle Szabo, born Alain.
Read also Dora Moutot: “We cannot erase sex for the benefit of gender identity”
"
This difference shared by hundreds of thousands of people in France, (...) is that of transidentity and the psychological suffering of not being in the '
right
'
gender
"
, she continues.
"
It took me many, many years to understand and accept who I really was
", thanks in particular to psychotherapeutic follow-up, and with the support of "
my loved ones and my wife
".
“
I only want to convey one message
,” Estelle Szabo told AFP: “
It is that you can be a person with a difference, not necessarily always accepted today, and exercise a political function
”.
