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French President Emmanuel Macron LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP

The French president is present at the Congress of Mayors of France which takes place in Paris, Porte de Versailles, this Tuesday, November 19th. At four months of the municipal elections, Mr. Macron will deliver the opening speech.

Last year, while tensions were high between the executive and local elected officials, Emmanuel Macron had preferred to skip the Congress of Mayors. This Tuesday, the atmosphere should be appeased, even if disagreements persist.

Christophe Dietrich, mayor of Laigneville, a town of 4,500 inhabitants located 80 kilometers north of Paris, still has a lot of things to do. This elected without label sometimes feels like moving mountains alone.

" Clearly, we sometimes feel humiliated by this government. I'm sorry, when we ask for an experiment, we are told : " Yes, yes ... There is no problem, we will give you permission ", and in the end we never have any answer ! " , Replies the mayor .

" It shows that in fact there is a fierce desire not to hear what is said. Today, we have Mr. Macron who comes to tell us that we are the most beautiful, the biggest, the strongest ... But in reality, everything is done so that the town halls disappear. He will not, therefore, listen to the speech of the Head of State.

Recreate a climate of trust

Jean-Paul Legendre, mayor without label Irreville, a small Norman village, will go to the Congress of Mayors of France. The "big debate" and the Lecornu bill, which aims to strengthen the powers of local elected representatives, have reduced the pressure, but not completely either.

" We are ready to make sacrifices if necessary, finances, etc. But the clutter is enough. It must recreate a climate of trust. If he reaches out to us, he will be answered favorably. It's obvious. "

Compensation of the tax of residence, suppressions of the tax centers, role of the communities of communes and more generally the decentralization; on all these subjects, the mayors expect precise answers from Emmanuel Macron.

An alliance against the "yellow vests"

Between the absence of Emmanuel Macron at the Congress of Mayors last year, which had angered the city officials, and its presence this year against the mayors, the "yellow vests" have changed the situation.

Everything has changed with the big debate. Emmanuel Macron went to seek the mayors' support he needed to calm the anger expressed by the movement of "yellow vests".

In the entourage of the president, it is estimated that it is this " alliance with the mayors who made the country go ". Emmanuel Macron became aware of the importance of these elected officials " within range of shouting ", as is customary to describe them. A ministerial advisor believes that " the president did the job ".

Emmanuel Macron can therefore, this year, go to the Congress of Mayors without fear of being too heckled. He also had, according to his entourage, " good talks " with François Baroin, potential competitor for the presidential 2022 but currently president of the Association of Mayors of France.

At four months of the municipal, and in a tense social context, the French number one has every interest in trying to show the sincerity of the attention he now bears to these local elected officials he must also receive Wednesday evening at the 'Elysium.