Whether they were re-elected or not, mayors will have to keep their positions until the end of confinement. But some municipalities have to face a painful ordeal: the disappearance of their mayor, who succumbed to Covid-19. In France, four municipalities are affected by this phenomenon.
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"I make up for what is very urgent"
This is the case of Saint-Brice-Courcelles, near Reims. In the elections, Alain Lalouette did not stand for his position as first assistant. But after the mayor's death from the coronavirus, he had to take control of the town.
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"I compensate for what is very urgent, such as masks. As long as the new mayor is not elected, I am responsible for his missions," said Alain Lalouette, mayor by default for ten days.
More and more sick mayors
In accordance with the law, in normal times, this interim would have lasted maximum fifteen days. Then, a new mayor would have been elected by the municipal council. Problem: it is currently impossible to meet because of the pandemic.
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To get around the problem, the first deputy of the municipalities concerned may remain mayor until the end of the state of health emergency. This government measure seems all the more necessary as the government fears further deaths of elected officials. Some are also hospitalized. "We must support the municipalities in this galley," says an adviser on this subject.
At Saint Brice Courcelless, Alain Lalouette does not imagine leaving his acting mayor's chair before the summer.