Les municipales are almost upon us and in my village there is, for the first time in donkeys' years, a second list
Our mayor therefore risks being ousted after over 30 years in the job. His team is panicking as well; they have been able to bend the rules to suit their needs for years whether it be building houses without planning permission to making sure their families get all the jobs financed by local government.
Indeed last year when we launched a cat rescue charity I was horrified to discover that at least two members were behind a proposed cat cull and I was myself called in to the Mairie and threatened if I did not stop the petitions I mounted at the time
So to get to the point....
The head of the second list phoned me late last night.
He has for a while been asking me to join his list but I am not eligible as I forgot to register to vote in time (it was Xmas and New Year and Santa issues got in the way)
His reason was that this weekend two people on his list pulled out.
Why?
Because they both had a visit from the current Mayor who made it clear that if they presented themselves they would lose their jobs. The Mayor does not want a second list as he knows that people are fed up with the nepotism, favouritism and the fact that our village is run by a Mayor who doesn't even live here!
After hanging up I immediately called my centre of communications....the local bar whose owner is a very good friend and I asked if he had heard of similar stories.
And as it happened he was talking to two clients who had just spent the day with a THIRD person who had been threatened over the week end. This third person is remaining on the list but said that the pressure he was put under to withdraw was frightening.
I do not believe this is gossip having had my 'cat cull' experience and having grown up in the dirty world of politics. Plus I know the people in question.
But what to do?
I am outraged but there is no proof and people are, understandably, worried about kicking up a stink in case the second list loses and they find themselves targeted
The current mayor is a now retired lawyer who set up one of the most successful 'cabinets' in the area and he knows how to cover his tracks. When I did my anti cat cull protests I lodged my petitions outside of France so that he could not do me for slander under French law. I also had an animal rights lawyer help me with the wording. The mayor was furious with me they day I got called in. He said he would take me to the cleaners and almost burst a blood vessel when I informed him that any slander case would have to be held in Redwood CA where the petition was launched and would also be held in English. And believe it or not he had the local Gendarme there to put the frighteners on me
So what to do? What do you all think? The old guard needs to go. The village wants the old guard to go. But people are now quaking in their boots and the second list is currently lacking two names...
Oh and if anyone knows a good investigative journalist who fancies rooting around feel free to let me know! No need to suggest La Depeche though; our local reporter is also the receptionist at the Mairie
Two can play the "frighteners" game, If I were you I would get in touch with the local, regional and /or national press and have a word in their years. They love a bit of scandal so make it a bit hot for the old mayor, why not stand against him.
We have an excellent book 'Pardon My French" published by Harrap. The author C W E Kirk-Greene wrote a first book of french idioms in 1973 and it seems to have grown somewhat.
I am on my second copy of this book as the kids got hold of the first one and took it on a school outing - not surprisingly it has never been seen since !
GBH. Remember it well. Wasn't that supposed to be based around Derek Hatton the Liverpool City deputy leader? Good luck to you if you have that sort of problem. Scary stuff! I guess you can't blame people being intimidated if they depend on these people for their living/ accommodation & in fairness most people aren't too worldly wise & self sufficient to put up a fight. It's how they get away with it.
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." - Edmund Burke. The problem always has been that "good men" are usually scared sh*tless by the evil ones.
Do you remember a series by Alan Bleasdale called GBH - starred Robert Lindsay and was a very dark comedy based on local politics?
Well Sorèze reminds of that at the moment!
Most people are too scared to take a stand; for example the old guard are the landlords and employers of a lot of people.
I was warned off last night - by a very good friend who had heard that if I got involved then I should expect to find my cats nailed to my door....it's hearsay but I do know people who have had similar things happen
The two ladies who pulled out did so because they work for the mayors family..........so now we need two women to step in.
I am not keen but may well throw my name in if I am at the bottom of the list and would therefore not be on the conseile municpale if the list is elected
Sarah, a journalist, Simon Kuper of FT had a nice piece and came up with 8 proposals. Hope this will cheer you up how he is thinking on How To Save France
Or in my case starting a successful business, being taxed to death, closing the business, starving for a year on RSA whilst doing courses and then becoming an AE only to find that there is very little help for the 'entrepreneur' (despite the word being created by a frenchman!)
As for petite bourgeoise - most people here are struggling farmers living in tumble down properties or small business owners fighting off the hussiers de justice; the very few petite bourgeoisie who live in Sorèze would be horrified if these people were included in their ranks. Indeed it is estimated that about 25% of Soreziens are out of work (through little or no fault of their own) and jobs are very very hard to come by
For what it is worth both lists in Sorèze are very right wing - I am rooting for the one that intends to promote small business (they have virtually all closed), has a variety of nationalities/creeds/colours on its list, supports animal rights (or rather cats' rights so that certain locals stop shooting them willy nilly) and is trying to revive the artistic and cultural heritage that we once had
I'd also like to see the mairie repair and maintain public areas and facilities and stop funneling all our taxes into the Abbaye Ecole. For example it would help make our beautiful village safe (last time I saw potholes like the ones we have was when I lived in east Africa) and also allow our school to provide quality meals from local produce rather than buying in Sodexo c**p that has about as much nutritional value as cat litter. After the cat has done his business
Yes Andrew, but you can't have it both ways. Those political responsible do not care about tax-complains, all, but really all of them, only care about themselves. So why should this be different with people who now come up with neo-national-socialism is the solution. As we all know: it isn't, - because a dwarf does not become bigger when he climbs a mountain. After all, its not the smallest mistake to make politics according to the motto "1000 flies can not be wrong" ;-).
it's far from being just la petite bourgeoisie, it's an enormous tranche of french society that's sick to their back teeth of being taxed to death whilst others live off the benefits... :-O
I thought its obvious that at least in the countryside, the Petite Bourgeois feels quite well represented by FN, even if their political program is just based on vox polpuli. No, this "Party" is a result of a disease from a system that can not generate any more enough bread crumbs for the petite bourgeois to keep him calm. And who does not love a very French romantic side, so let her be in the eyes of her followers an angel, that why Avenging Angel.
In the case of Ukraine, only NATO is happy about its hopes for extension, - which does not have much to do with French local politics. The problem here is the undynamic, unimaginative, political structure with all its regulations, that sets like mildew over all entrepreneurship and its this which will make matters worse hand in hand with all this increasing nationalist, isolationist croaking.
Well, it cannot be Carla Bruni, she is brunette, Ioulia Tymochenko and France hardly seem to have much in common and as for Marine le Pen, hardly an 'avenging angel' (certainly not an angel), so Theo who do you mean exactly? Aha, Brigitte Bardot of course!
Unfortunately, and from exprerience, this seems like pretty standard french political life (or life full stop when you think of how the only way to get something is de te faire pistonner !), especially at local level. Bonne chance !
And I've no idea where Théo's coming from either...! :-O
Well, yes I have not the slightest illusion that this blond lady, this avenging angel of the petty bourgeoisie, will have a landslide victory because the other, as you have so beautifully described, made such a stupid policy. On a large scale the presidential Maximus has managed to unite all these petite bourgeois because he is sooo smart. No, I'm not pessimistic, its logic that all will become much, much worse than many non-French can imagine.
well, please keep me posted; I am interested. My e-mail address is in the 1st post, pls let me know. It seems even more bizarre to discover that he was an avocat! Submission to Admin court need not be that long. I have been successful in Court in Toulouse!! So I can trust that Court (Court of Appeal, on Fr. Employment Law).