Little known to the general public, Dominique Faure takes the lead in Elisabeth Borne’s team. Until now Secretary of State, this native of Carcassonne (Aude) was appointed this Monday Minister Delegate for Local Authorities, replacing Caroline Cayeux, resigned, whose asset statement is contested by the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life. At the same time, she maintains the Ruralities portfolio that she has led since her appointment to the Government last July.
At 63 years old, the new patron of the territories in government has known several lives. This former tennis champion -who walked the courts of Roland-Garros- launched into politics in 2012. Under the label of the Radical Party, then in the hands of Jean-Michel Baylet, one of her relatives, this professional engineer was elected Deputy for Haute-Garonne.
local elected official
Two years later, before the application of the law of non-accumulation of mandates, the parliamentarian became mayor of the town of Saint-Orens-de-Gameville, on the outskirts of Toulouse. In 2017, she joined La République en Marche, before returning to the National Assembly and becoming vice president of Toulouse Métropole.
This teacher’s daughter then sits on the Economic Affairs Committee, seen as a no-brainer for this former private executive.
Passed by large telecommunications companies such as Cegetel or SFR, his arrival in the Government in the Ruralities portfolio last June to succeed Joël Giraud, after a victory in the legislative elections by 200 votes, is done on a discretionary basis.
circumspection of rural mayors
In his roadmap: “Reconciliation between rural and urban territories”, he entrusts The Gazette of the Communes.
But his appointment is viewed with suspicion by associations of elected officials. The association of rural mayors of France regrets that city policy is attributed to a deputy minister, Olivier Klein, while rural territories are only represented by a secretary of state. Worse still, this title ranks last in the protococary order of members of the entire government.
To convince, Dominique Faure tries to step on the accelerator to the government’s “rural agenda” launched in 2019 and wants to speed up the deployment of French service houses and the end of white areas.
Tense relations between Macron and the communities
Very discreet in the media, the new “Madame local authorities” will now have to put music to the rapprochement that Emmanuel Macron calls for with the mayors.
The first steps of the president’s five-year term in 2017 had been complicated by local elected officials. During his first trip to the Congress of Mayors, 6 months after his election, the Head of State had even been whistled. The following year, despite his promise to “come every year to report on the commitments made,” he skipped the meeting and instead received a thousand mayors at the Élysée.
At the time, the gesture greatly displeased local elected officials, further straining an already rocky relationship. Since then, the atmosphere has calmed down, after its very strong request by the government during the yellow vest crisis and then during the Covid-19 crisis.
Put oil in the gears
However, two grievances continue to cloud the relationship between the president and the mayors: an executive judged too centralizing -despite the appointment of several local figures in the government such as Christophe Béchu, former mayor of Angers- and a review of local taxation.
Last Wednesday, the president preferred to stroll through the halls of the Mayors’ Fair, which brings together companies that work in public services, rather than a speech in front of local elected officials, which made people cringe. He then returned to receive a thousand of them on the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré.
In her new ministry, the former high-level athlete will have to continue trying to smooth relations between the government and the associations of elected officials.
Source: BFM TV
