EDITORIAL. Mayors have become targets of vindictiveness and sometimes violence from their constituents

The congress of the Association of Mayors of France opens Monday, November 20 in Paris against a backdrop of deep unease among these local elected officials. Year after year, the mayors’ spleen gets worse. Resignations during mandates have increased to reach 1,200 over the past three years, while attacks against elected officials have also increased by almost 40% since 2021.

Violence illustrated by some dramatic cases in recent months, for example, Vincent Jeanbrun, the mayor of Haÿ-les-roses, in the Paris region, whose home was attacked during the riots, or Yannick Ronez, mayor of Sant-les-Roses, Brévin-les Pins, in Loire-Atlantique, pushed to resign by torrents of hatred because he defended the installation of a center for refugees in his commune.

The yellow vest movement marks a turning point

Mayors have become targets of vindictiveness and sometimes violence from their constituents. For what ? Because they find themselves on the front line, struggling with the disruptions in our society. Two phenomena combine to complicate their task. First, the loss of respect for authority. Other professions which are pillars of our Republic, such as police officers or teachers, are also experiencing it head-on. In terms of attacks on elected officials, the yellow vest movement undoubtedly marked a turning point and the tension has not subsided since. And then, there is the dilution of social bonds and the notion of general interest.

Mayors come up against an every-man-for-himself society, in an increasingly brutal, even violent, atmosphere. A few months ago, Emmanuel Macron even warned against a process of “decivilization”.

The head of state who will not attend the AMF congress. It is true that his visit is not automatic. He will receive mayors at the Élysée. But this choice may surprise you. During the “great debate”, Emmanuel Macron relied particularly on mayors, he highlighted their mission. And at the end of a year marked by the ultra-violence of rioters who particularly targeted public buildings, schools, sometimes town halls, even in small towns that were until then quiet, the mayors, these lookouts of the Republic transformed into punching bags undoubtedly needed to be a little more pampered by the one whose mission is to embody the unity of the Nation.