Status of local elected officials: the Senate tackles the vocations crisis

“If we want to maintain this strength of local commitment in our country, it is urgent to act.” Centrist senator Françoise Gatel (UDI) defended in the chamber a bill supported by all political sensibilities: 309 of the 348 senators signed it, including all of the parliamentary group presidents!

Both the left and the right, which have a majority in the Senate with their centrist allies, share an alarming observation. “Every day, a mayor resigns,” worried Ms. Gatel. As of January 31, 2024, more than 4% of mayors elected in 2020 had resigned, overcome by weariness, insecurity or lack of financial recognition.

“The status of the local elected representative is the three dimensions: before, during and after the exercise of the mandate”, insisted the socialist Eric Kerrouche, thus summarizing the three sections of this text, resulting from work carried out for a long time by the Chamber of Territories.

The bill, which should be adopted Thursday after three days of examination, "will allow us to make new progress in the direction of democratic mobilization, and that is fortunate. It is even essential," launched the Minister for Communities Dominique Faure, confirming to senators the government's desire to support this initiative.

Maternity leave

Among the first measures adopted during the night: the increase in the ceilings for official allowances, in particular to compensate for inflation.

The upper house also intends to facilitate the reconciliation between the exercise of the mandate and that of a professional activity.

Thus, she proposes doubling the duration of “elective leave” for candidates in local elections, bringing it to 20 days. And to create an “Employer partner of local democracy” label with tax reductions for companies employing elected officials, a system supported by the government.

Post-mandate professional reintegration is also the subject of numerous measures, such as the creation of a “professional certification” adapted to the career path of local elected officials.

Recent complaints from the environmentalist mayor of Poitiers Léonore Moncond'huy, who denounced a loss of income during upcoming maternity leave, due to the impossibility of combining her daily allowances with part of her official allowances , will also invite themselves into the hemicycle.

The government has promised an amendment to "guarantee all elected officials on maternity, paternity or adoption leave to benefit from the maintenance of their allowances", assured Ms. Faure, in response to senators from numerous groups, limited by the Constitution in their field of action when it comes to increasing public spending.

Many senators thus railed at the inadmissibility of their amendments, while others regretted that the text did not create a real "elective function code" to truly protect this status of the elected official in the law.

Room War

Improving the “status of elected officials” is one of the projects launched by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.

Transpartisan, the file even arouses a certain competition between the two chambers of Parliament, because a similar bill is awaiting examination in the National Assembly.

Supported by Violette Spillebout (Renaissance) and by the communist Sébastien Jumel, but still not included on the agenda, this initiative finds itself duplicated by that of the Senate while a parliamentary source from the National Assembly assures that a " informal agreement" had been sealed so that deputies had priority over the text.

“We were never asked for anything,” replies Françoise Gatel.
“I have no ego or qualms,” adds Senator UDI, the number 1 referent on local authorities in the Senate.

The two texts are “complementary”, confirmed the minister from the podium.

Another legislative aspect on elected officials, a text strengthening the sanctions provided for in the event of violence against local elected officials has already been adopted by both chambers of Parliament in recent weeks.