Concluding his speech at the 93rd congress of departments, the Prime Minister said he was ready to open a certain number of projects concerning all local elected officials, beyond responses specific to the departments. Michel Barnier has not shared his position on certain institutional developments at this stage, and is currently listening. “We are ready to open the discussion, I am not committing at this stage,” he clarified.
First file: the Prime Minister put on the table the question of the ban on a local executive mandate with the functions of parliamentarian, engraved in the law since 2014. It has applied since 2017 to legislative and senatorial elections, and since 2019 for the elections of European deputies. “I am open to a pluralist reflection to evaluate, and reassess if necessary, the current ban on the accumulation of mandates with the objective of bringing national elected officials, also European elected officials, closer to citizens,” explained the leader. of the government, before being applauded by the audience of presidents of departmental assemblies.
In recent months, the subject has been raised in particular by the deputies of the Horizons group, through a bill. Long-time skeptic about the ban, the Senate adopted a bill in 2021 to relax this incompatibility of mandates, and allow parliamentarians to be mayor of a municipality of less than 10,000 inhabitants. The text was then rejected in the National Assembly.
Michel Barnier also raises the question of the return of the territorial advisor
The elected officials, however, were much less enthusiastic when the Prime Minister uttered the words “territorial advisor”. Voted under Nicolas Sarkozy, but repealed in 2013 by the socialist majority, this function was to merge the general and regional councilors into a single interlocutor.
Just like the accumulation of mandates, this development was part of the recommendations of the Woerth report on decentralization, submitted in May. “Tell me your updated feelings on this issue,” asked the Prime Minister, aware that this idea is “contested by many departments”.
