Direction the Élysée on foot: a Gironde mayor gave his scarf to Emmanuel Macron

Le Figaro Bordeaux

The first magistrate of Caudrot had "the Elysée in line of 'mayor'". He therefore set out on May 21 to get there, on foot, from his commune. And it is in his hiker's outfit - contrasting with the gold of the salons of the Republic - that he was received on his arrival, Wednesday, by Dominique Faure, Minister Delegate in charge of local authorities and rurality, as well as the advisor of the Territories of Emmanuel Macron, Jean-Marie Caillaud. "These appointments fulfill at least one of my objectives, which was to be received and listened to," says Jérémie Gaillard the day after his arrival in Paris, "if I get satisfaction even for a request, I would not have done it for nothing."

Starting off on the wrong foot with hiking shoes unsuited to the asphalt, the mayor of Caudrot was able to experience one of the adages used by walkers: most of the way is based on mental strength... and on the right equipment. "I really had to hang on," says the one who suffered from beautiful and big blisters, "I would have looked ridiculous to give up after three days." On the fifth day, his municipal team "saved" him by putting him on more properly.

I rediscovered the silent majority, full of benevolence, generosity and kindness on which we should rely to move forward.

Jérémie Gaillard, Mayor of Caudrot

His scarf as a standard, the elected representative defended ten key files for his municipality on the 562 kilometers that separated it from 55, rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré: administrative burdens of grant files, refusal of recruitment for the Network of specialized assistance to students in difficulty for primary school (because "the quotas are filled on the academy ") or the lack of gendarmes in his commune (one per 1000 inhabitants)... In a sometimes breathless tone, each subject was presented in videos published on Facebook by the one who crisscrossed the roads of France. "Beyond the original form of my project, I really wanted the background to be up to par," says the edile.

The objective was twofold. It was also a question of making the French aware of the complexity of the task of mayors to enable them to better understand "the reasons that may prevent them from responding favorably to their requests". A mission fulfilled. Received by his Gironde counterparts from Vayres, Villegoin, Le Dora and Beaugency, the walker was also hosted by retirees, a doctor and a farmer. "This journey was also a human adventure. I rediscovered the silent majority, full of benevolence, generosity and kindness on which we should rely to move forward, "says the forty-year-old.

Insisting on the essential role of local elected officials "to improve the daily lives of the French", Jérémie Gaillard entrusted his scarf to the Councillor of the Territories of the presidency, so that he could give it to the Head of State. A symbolic gesture intended to remind "Emmanuel Macron that every time he makes a decision, it can impact mayors who already make a lot of sacrifices". For the rest of his mandate, the elected official will buy a third. The first, he placed it on the beer of his predecessor, Roland Laporte, in tribute to his work for Caudrot.