Local elections in France - Loc-Envel the village in Brittany with one candidate for every five inhabitants

You might remember a couple of weeks ago, a piece about how difficult it was for some villages in France to find candidates to stand for mayor in the upcoming local elections on March 23 and 30.

Well, in the village of Loc-Envel in the département of Côtes-d'Armor in Brittany, there's a problem of quite a different sort.

Too many people, it seems, want to get involved in local politics.

The current mayor, Jacques Le Gorju, has been in the job for the past 20 years but has decided not to run again for office.


At 76 he says he "has done enough" and that his "wife is tired" (???).

Jacques Le Gorju soon-to-be former mayor of Loc-Envel (screenshot Canal + "La Nouvelle Edition")

Now, quite often in small villages in France - and Loc-Envel, with a population of just 80, is one of them - "power", if you will, is handed down from generation to generation.

Or, when a mayor decides not to run again for office, someone else from the current council will head a list made up - well more or less - of the same people who are already in office.

And that might well have been what Le Gorju had been counting on. Someone from the current council would head a list to fill the seven available seats and...basta.

There would be no complaints, no opposition and everyday (political) life would continue just as it always had.

Except neither he, nor any his supporters presumably, counted on a "mutiny" of sorts "within the ranks" as one councillor, the current second deputy mayor Virginie Doyen, decided she had had enough of the old guard and wanted to do things her own way.

The 36-year-old Doyen has put together an opposing list of four other women and two men who will "be motivated" and " bring skills and new ideas to the village."

So electors will have a choice, which can't be a bad thing.

Except divisions are already occurring in the 80-strong community and are likely to lead to a bitter battle.

With just seven places on the council "up for grabs" and two lists of seven candidates, being presented, there is, in a sense, one candidate for every five inhabitants.

And just to add to the fun, as in all villages in France with a population of less than 1,000, Loc-Envel voters can cross out or remove names from lists while voting.

In other words, the count will based on votes cast for each individual and not the lists. 

So who'll end up being mayor or even sitting on the council is...well, just about anybody's guess.

La Nouvelle Edition du 21/02 - Le village aux 14 candidats

France's longest serving mayors finally call it a day

It's the kind of story that would (if it hasn't already) feature in the lunchtime "let's feel good about France" show anchored by Jean-Pierre Pernaut: both of the country's longest-serving mayors will step down at next month's local elections.

No, this piece isn't about Marseille's Jean-Claude Gaudin who has been in the job for the past 18 years and is seeking re-election for a fourth term.

Incidentally, some bright spark at the local online news site Marsactu came up with the statistic that, should Gaudin win again in March, he would have accumulated 120 years worth of political mandates (and the salaries and benefits that go along with them) by 2017, the year when the non-cumul de mandats law is (if ratified by the Conseil constitutionnel) due to come into force.

Anyway, Gaudin's 18 years in the top job in Marseille (almost) pale into insignificance when compared to the time Arthur Richier has spent as mayor of the village of Faucon du Caire in the département of Alpes-de-Haute-Provence.

The 92-year-old (yes, you read correctly) has been mayor of the village (current population of 59) since...deep breath...1947.

Arthur Richier (screenshot France 3 report)

Richier has held 11 consecutive mandates for a total of 66 years in office.

But he has decided not to stand again in the elections in March, preferring instead to hand over to someone younger.

"If someone isn't able to put a full list together, I'll accept a position on the council," he said.

"But I'm not looking to stand for the post of mayor again."



Hang about though.

The title is in the plural - and Richier is only "one" of the country's longest serving mayors.

What about the other?

Over in the village of La Bastide-de-Bousignac in the département of Ariège (population 339)
Roger Sénié has been mayor for exactly the same length of time but unlike Richier isn't quite ready to hand in his sash yet.

Or at least he wasn't when interviewed last December when he insisted he wanted to stand for a 12th term in office.


Portrait du doyen des candidats aux élections... par BFMTV

But since then, Sénié too has had time to reflect and probably realising that his 61-year-old son, who is also currently on the council, wasn't willing to "step into his shoes" listened to reason.

"I've only recently taken the decision not to stand," he said.

"I'll be 94 in a few months and family and close friends have convinced me it's time to stop."

Roger Sénié (screenshot BFM TV)

M. Gaudin in Marseille (and probably many others of France's 36,000 mayors), are you taking note?

You might only be 75 but don't you think perhaps...?

Anyone out there fancy standing for mayor in the French local elections?

Voter apathy - or at least a general disinterest in politics - is not an unknown phenomenon in elections.

And in the upcoming local elections in France there'll probably be plenty who just couldn't be bothered to make it to the polling stations.

But in the village of Ouvrouer-les-Champs in the département of Loiret, there's another kind of apparent indifference to the March 23 and 30 votes.

Nobody wants to stand to be mayor.

André Galhac is stepping down after just one term in office and none of his team - nor anyone else come to that - has come forward as a candidate.

André Galhac, mayor of Ouvrouer-les-Champs - looking for a successor ((screenshot BFM TV)

"If nobody stands then the election will not take place," said Galhac, stating perhaps the obvious.

"And the management and administration of the village will be taken over by the Préfecture."

And he's right.

The law in France has provisions for just such cases.

A 'special delegation' is formed to carry out the functions of the local council until a by-election can be held three months later. And if there still aren't any candidates then the Préfecture can propose merging the village - in this case - with a neighbouring one.

It's all there on the official website for "special cases" in local elections along with, for example, villages in which there are no voters (!!!) or in which there are only second homes.

Clearly Ouvrouer-les-Champs case is far from being an isolated one.

La Membrolle-sur-Longuenée (population, just under 2,000) in the département of Maine-et-Loire had problems finding anyone to stand until the current mayor Jean-Louis Gascoin "went public" in appealing for potential candidates back in December.

There are now two who've come forward.

And just to add another angle to the ongoing saga of local election stories, Laurent Jaoul the mayor of the town of Saint-Brès in the département of Hérault is actively encouraging opposition candidates to stand against him in his bid for re-election.

Laurent Jaoul, mayor of Saint-Brès - looking for someone to run against him (screenshot TVSudMedias)

"In a democracy there has to be a place for debate," he said.

"I've outlined all my plans and projects but no other candidate from the major parties (Jaoul is independent) has as yet managed to finalise a list," he continued.

"It would be the first time in 40 years that there hadn't been alternative lists proposed," he added, insisting that "yes" he really wanted to be elected but also have competition.

If anyone fancies "helping out" either Galhac in Ouvrouer-les-Champs or Jaoul La Membrolle-sur-Longuenée, check out the conditions for becoming a candidate.

You have until March 6 to get your act together.

Caroline Bartoli, a more than reluctant politician running for mayor

With the first round of voting in local elections in France just over a month away, things are becoming interesting.

All right. Let's not exaggerate.

Most people probably aren't that captivated by the possible outcome.

Anyway, one thing that's certainly receiving its fair share of media coverage is the race to become mayor of Paris.

It's politics at its most professional - that doesn't necessarily mean at its best - likely to go to a second round slugfest between the Socialist party's Anne Hildalgo, the "heiress apparent to the current mayor Bertrand Delanoë,  and the centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) candidate Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet (NKM).

Those two make the headlines often enough - so let's not spend too much time singing their praises or analysing their chances.

Just to say that opinion polls put Hildalgo in the lead at the moment

But that might begin changing now that NKM - who according to genealogists is a descendant of Lucrezia Borgia (and no, that has nothing at all to do with this piece, just an interesting titbit to throw into the conversation at dinner parties perhaps) has the official backing of one of the country's political heavyweights.

Yep, the former president (and president-in-waiting?) Nicolas Sarkozy showed up at NKM's most recent rally in Paris on Monday evening to liven up an event as only he can.

"I'm here because Nathalie is a friend," he told reporters.

"She was a courageous and intelligent spokesperson during my (presidential) campaign and the least I can do is to show my gratitude for that."


Nicolas Sarkozy présent au meeting de NKM "par... par BFMTV

From the pomp and professionalism of politicians with greater aspirations, how about looking at the other end of the spectrum.

Someone who's standing albeit reluctantly.

How about someone few French had ever heard of...until her appearance on France 3 last week.

Caroline Bartoli is the candidate of the wonderfully-named Divers gauche (DVG), or Miscellaneous left in the race to become mayor of Propriano, a town in the south of Corsica.

Caroline Bartoli (screenshot France 3 Corse)

And Bartoli only seems to have one campaign policy - to keep the seat warm for her husband, Paul-Marie Bartoli.

You see, he (Paul-Marie) is the current mayor, but for legal reasons, is ineligible to stand - some problem with previous campaign funds apparently.

That "disentitlement" (grabbing around for a synonym here) will be lifted in May - sadly, for Bartoli (Paul-Marie), two months after the elections.

What to do?

That's where Caroline steps in to show her mettle, putting in a Q&A performance on France 3 Corse last Thursday of which any aspiring politician would be...er...proud.

When her candidature was announced in January, Bartoli (Caroline) declared she had "no desire to start a political career" and true to her "promise" the interview on France 3 showed exactly that.

Bartoli was convincing in her lack of political nous, resorting to reading answers that bore little relation to the questions asked.

Take a listen to the interview. It's only five minutes long. You might learn something in the art of how not to answer any of the questions posed by a journalist.

Bartoli's response at around two minutes 30 when asked about how she would deal with building permits and the problem of too many holiday homes pretty much sums it up.

She consults her notes...can't find the right answer...and so replies, "I'll continue my husband's policy" seemingly unclear as to what it was or is.


MUNICIPALES - En Corse, Propriano c'est une... par France3CorseViaStella

PR blunders and political infighting threaten Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet's Paris mayor bid

Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet's (NKM) campaign to become the next mayor of Paris (that's the whole of the city as opposed to the 20 individual arrondissements that also have their own elected mayors and administrations  - it's what you call efficient use of public funds) has taken some unusual twists and turns in recent months.

There has been a combination of what surely must be PR blunders and the political infighting that has, in recent years, become a trademark of the centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire, (Union for a Popular Movement, UMP) to which NKM belongs.

First up those PR - er - gaffes. Or at least peculiar choices.

There she was in late November (just a month after her "carrot rage" outburst - see here to find out what THAT was all about), arguably one of the brightest politicians of her generation, fooling absolutely nobody as she waxed lyrical about the merits of the Paris métro!

"For me, the métro is place of charm, both anonymous and familiar," she said in an interview with Elle magazine.

"I often take lines 8 and 13 and I sometimes have the most amazing encounters. I'm not trying to idealise the subway. It is sometimes painful, but there are moments of grace."

Say what?

Charm?

Grace?

Try telling that to those who use it on a regular basis.

Clearly NKM seldom takes the ruddy thing during rush hour - as many were more than willing to point out.

Oh well. Each to their own.

Just before Christmas, NKM decided to let her hair down (metaphorically speaking as she has already done it literally) by sharing a ciggie with what appeared to be a group of homeless men.

It didn't really matter that they were reportedly workers from Poland with whom she also exchanged a few words in Polish.

Unluckily for NKM, she was caught on camera, the photo was published in VSD and Twitter had a field day poking fun at her and the "apparent attempt to rub shoulders with the homeless".

NKM has a quick ciggie (source Twitter)

Voters, opponents and the media await with impatience NKM's potential PR slip ups between now and the local elections in March.

But, when all is said and done, issues of perceived image pale in comparison with the dangers of the political challenge she faces from those...within her own party - where else?

This is the UMP after all, and true to form it's proving to be as unified as ever...and that means virtual disarray reminiscent of the 2012 leadership fiasco between François Fillon and Jean-François Copé.

At the heart of NKM's problems is her attempt to stamp her authority on sections of the party in Paris that quite simply refuse to accept her way of doing things or that she's the boss.

The particular case of the candidate for mayor of the fifth arrondissement has taken on proportions which prove that at a local level the UMP is as capable of disunity as it is nationally.

More importantly though, it also poses a real threat to NKM being elected.

The current mayor of the fifth arrondissement is Jean Tiberi - a man with the most colourful of political pasts even by French standards - and one of NKM's fiercest critics.

It's Tiberi's second spell in the post.

Jean Tiberi (screenshot Europe 1)

He held it from 1983 until 1995 when he ran for the job NKM is currently campaigning for.

Yes, that's right. He was mayor of Paris - the whole shebang - for six years.

In 1995, he succeeded Jacques Chirac, and he held the post until 2001 when he lost to
Bertrand Delanoë, mainly because he couldn't work out his differences with the late Philippe Séguin thereby splitting the centre-right vote...sound familiar?

So it was back to the fifth arrondissement where he has been ever since, running his own personal fiefdom.

Along the way of course, he and his wife, Xavière, have ridden out several scandals together, including one for corruption allegations as well as accusations of vote rigging.

Heck, he has even been fined, had a suspended 10 month sentence handed down and been prevented from running from political office again.

But that hasn't stopped him from appealing and holding down several jobs at the same time including that as  a member of the national assembly for over 40 years until he stood down in the 2012 elections.

He had been hoping the Tiberi dynasty in the fifth arrondissement would be continued by his son, Dominique.

But NKM stepped in, parachuting Florence Berthout, an old friend of her choosing as the official candidate, and leaving Tiberi - father and son - gobsmacked.

"She's just doing anything she likes," said Tiberi senior.

"My candidature is a legitimate one," said Tiberi junior.

Enter stage left...er, no...better make that right - French businessman Charles Beigbeder, the so-called "blue eyed boy" of the Parisian right and brother of the writer, director and literary critic Frédéric - although that has absolutely nothing to do with his political ambitions.

 Charles Beigbeder (screenshot BFM TV)

Beigbeder wanted to be the candidate on the list for an arrondissement of his choosing and one in which he would most likely be elected.

But NKM had other ideas, plumping for someone else instead and insisting Beigbeder stand in an arrondissement of HER choosing.

Yes this all gets a bit of a numbers game and even a reasonable grasp of the ins and outs of (local) Paris politics makes the internal manœuverings hard to understand.

The long and the short of it is though that Beigbeder has promised to launch his own alternative UMP dissident list of candidates, insisting that "It's not an anti-NKM campaign but one destined to beat the Socialist party's Anne Hildalgo."

No that doesn't really make sense, but it's what Beigbeder maintains potentially splitting the centre-right vote will do.

Ah politics and elections. That's really what it's all about isn't it?

Pass the gin!