“
A great weariness
”.
It was with these words that Didier Pilon justified his resignation from his mandate as mayor of Dizimieu (Isère) last August.
The sixty-year-old will have lasted a little over three years at the head of this rural town of 800 inhabitants.
Since 2018, the village has had no less than five different mayors, including Christine Bochet between July 2018 and August 2019. The latter ended her life just after receiving an anonymous email addressed to the entire municipal council, which pointed out in particular “
his incompetence
” and “
his stupidity
”.
Tensions still persist today.
Led since October by Luc Nguyen, the new municipal council has already recorded the departure of two of its members.
A situation which echoes the recent comments of David Lisnard.
During the annual congress of mayors, at the end of November, Mayor LR of Cannes and president of the Association of Mayors of France (AMF) noted “
a 32% increase in attacks on elected officials between 2021 and 2022
” and “
40 resignations of mayors per month since spring 2020.
”
To better understand this phenomenon,
Le Figaro
has drawn up a map of the municipalities which have changed mayor at least once since September 2020. If the media spotlight usually focuses on the most spectacular cases - involving acts of violence in particular -, the The problem as a whole turns out to be less sensational, the result of a tiring daily life, punctuated by misunderstandings and administrative burdens.
With, upon arrival, a growing feeling of isolation and helplessness among many elected officials.
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