As the Congress of Mayors of France begins Monday, November 20 in Paris, a survey by the Sciences Po Political Research Center confirms the increase in incivility and violence they face. The “republican fatigue” of mayors is spreading.
According to a Cevipof survey, published on Sunday November 19 and which Franceinfo was able to consult, nearly seven out of ten mayors say they are victims of incivility. This is 16 points more than in 2020. Figure revealed on the eve of the 105th Congress of Mayors, which begins Monday in Paris at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center.
The violence against elected officials, symbolized in recent months by the resignation of the mayor of Saint-Brevin-les-Pins (Loire-Atlantique) and the fire against the home of the mayor of L’Haÿ-les-Roses (Val-de-Marne ) during urban violence, continues to increase. According to figures from the Ministry of the Interior, 2,265 complaints and reports were filed in 2022 by elected officials, which is 32% more than in 2021. “The first indications for the year 2023 again suggest a 15% increase in violence against local elected officials”recalls the Cevipof investigation.
Insults, threats, even physical violence
Among the 6,000 mayors questioned during this study, nearly four in ten (39%) admit to having already been insulted or insulted. More than a quarter (27%) have been attacked or threatened on social media. Physical violence is only denounced by 2% of the mayors questioned. 12% also recognize that their family has also suffered violence. In this context, 15% of elected officials surveyed admit to feeling a feeling of insecurity, compared to 11% for the rest of the population according to INSEE data.
After the resignation of the mayor of Saint-Brevin-Les-Pins last spring, the State announced the deployment of 3,400 “attacks on elected officials” referents in gendarmes and police stations, so that they can more easily denounce the facts . But the approximately 6,000 mayors interviewed, between mid-September and mid-October, still consider the processing times for complaints to be too long. A lack of speed which, according to them, undermines their authority and exposes them to reprisals.
This survey, commissioned by the AMF and the government last summer, also allows us to better understand the uneasiness of mayors. According to Cevipof, which relies on the national directory of elected officials, 1,300 have resigned since the start of their mandate in June 2020, “i.e. 450 per year compared to 350 during the previous mandate”.
“Republican fatigue” worsened by insufficient compensation
On the other hand, the increase in violence is not the only reason for this “republican fatigue”, specifies the survey which speaks of “multiple causes”. Mayors point out the very high demands of their constituents (13.6%), increasingly complex relationships with State services (12.3%), difficulties in reconciling the exercise of their mandate with a personal or professional life when they are not retired (10.1%). In 7.8% of cases, they also denounce the lack of financial and tax resources. On all these points, they expect improvements.
The question of compensation never appears as a condition of their commitment. Mayors are not looking to make money. On the other hand, when they are in the world of work, they are not ready to lose any. What the study shows is that their position on this point has changed since 2020, therefore since the start of the current mandate: a quarter of them then thought that they were not compensated enough. Today, it’s half (48%). In cities with more than 9,000 inhabitants, when being mayor is a full-time job, it is even more than three quarters (78%).
The government is considering a revaluation. Cevipof, in addition to written questionnaires, met face-to-face with around thirty mayors. They are unanimous: increasing them by affecting the operating budget of their municipality would be a bad solution.