at the Congress of Mayors, elected officials hope for an increase in their compensation

The Prime Minister, who will deliver a speech at the closing of the Congress of Mayors, could also make announcements around the creation of a specific status for elected officials.

In the aisles of the Congress of Mayors of France, everyone agrees: they are not mayors to make money. But Xavier Compain, communist mayor of Plouha, in Côtes-d’Armor, draws a bitter observation. “I am mayor of 5,000 inhabitants and I earn 4.50 euros an hour. There is a real problem. Democracy has a price. And it’s not crocodile tears that we need, it’s real compensation.” asks the chosen one.

So, will the government make a move for mayors? On Wednesday November 22, a thousand of them were received with great fanfare at the Elysée by Emmanuel Macron for a cocktail. This Thursday, November 23, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne will give a speech to them at the end of the traditional AMF congress. Announcements are expected to give real status to these elected officials and to increase their compensation.

Compensation based on the number of inhabitants

Mayors are paid according to the number of inhabitants in their municipality: the more there are, the higher the compensation. For example, the mayor of a town of less than 500 inhabitants will barely receive 1,000 euros, while the councilors of the largest municipalities can be compensated up to 7,000 or 8,000 euros. “It’s way too unfair“, estimates Valérie Revel, elected in Lescar in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques. “As soon as something happens in the territory, despite various skills, we are a bit responsible for everything. So we also share a bit of this bitterness that we can have in the face of the lack of recognition.”

“It’s also personal lives that sometimes have to be sacrificed.”

Valérie Revel, mayor of Lescar (Pyrénées-Atlantiques)

at franceinfo

Sébastien Populaire, mayor of the small town of Touillon-et-Loutelet, in the Doubs, would like to be able to reconcile his professional life and his personal life. “Typically, I am still quite young so I am still active”, he says. He expects announcements from the Prime Minister’s speech for “that there be more ease, more possibility of reconciling professional life and the life of an elected official”. This is the only solution, these mayors insist, to avoid a vocations crisis. And that certain cities find themselves without a candidate for the next municipal elections in 2026.