For municipalities with more than 1,000 inhabitants, the obligation of parity in municipal elections has been a reality since 2013. Great novelty of the vote that will be held next year, this rule will now be applied to all municipalities, even for those of 1,000 inhabitants. In total, almost 25,000 municipalities are affected by the law promulgated this Thursday, May 21.
But the text is not seen with a good eye by certain rural elected officials. A demonstration was even organized before the Ministry of Rurality on Friday to indicate its opposition. Your fear? That the constitution of municipal lists, an already complicated exercise in these villages, no longer resorts to the headache.
Ethical fears
Questioned by BFMTV, Roger Walart, mayor of Tournedos-Bois-Hubert, a village of 450 inhabitants in Eure, is one of the elected officials concerned about this new imperative. His current municipal team is composed of nine men against two women. The lists that have to count at least nine candidates in the municipalities of 100 to 499 inhabitants, therefore, four of them will have to be women for the municipal elections of 2026. “Even half of nine, will be very difficult for us …”, anticipates.
The mayor of the Barben and the president of the rural mayors of Bouches-Du-Rhône, Franck Santois underlines for BFMTV the possible ethics problem that the law could raise. “For example, if we take (a city of) 200 inhabitants and take four people per family, there are 50 families. At one time, you may find yourself a little blocked because you will have to hit ‘in the same families” to constitute a list, he says.
However, the law, although adding additional criteria, is considered essential by Joseline, used in the Tourned-Bois-Hubert City Council: “It seems very important to me that women are represented. It is a pity that we should go through a law to be done.”
“I don’t see why we would make an exception”
He also judges the “damage” to reach parity through a legal obligation, Michel Fournier, president of the Association of Rural Mayors of France, judges this logical development.
“This obligation exists in all other national, departmental, regional and even municipal elections of more than 1,000 inhabitants,” he recalls in BFMTV. “I don’t see why we would make an exception in our category of less than 1,000 inhabitants.”
The mayor of the village des Voivres, in Las Vosges, stands out after having presented a joint list since his first election in 1989, when his city has less than 300 souls. For him, the obligation of parity “is not a restriction” and the opposition to the text is due to “local conservatism.” The main problem to establish a list is in its broadest sense: “Today there are less and fewer people, men or women, who wish to commit to the operational society.”
Source: BFM TV
