Elected in Saint-Omer, François Decoster is one of the 32 mayors in the running to be crowned "best mayor in the world" by the "City Mayor Foundation".
On our antenna, he insists on the role of the mayor, especially in times of pandemic, while the inhabitants met by Europe 1 are rather satisfied with his action.
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Will a Frenchman be crowned the best mayor in the world? As every year, the "City Mayor Foundation", an international think tank, will distinguish one elected from among 32 selected mayors, for his action at the local level. Three French people are in the running: Philippe Rio, mayor of Grigny, Eric Piolle, mayor of Grenoble, and finally François Decoster, elected in Saint-Omer, in Pas-de-Calais. Contacted by Europe 1, the latter expressed his "great surprise", and took the opportunity to recall the importance of the role of the mayor, especially in this period of the coronavirus epidemic.
"In these times of pandemic, the role of the mayor has taken on a particular dimension", recognizes François Decoster.
"We are the level of proximity. It is a crisis that has posed a lot of new questions. We must respond every day to anxieties, to concerns. We must invent new answers, new organizations."
The mayor, "an irreplaceable echelon"
For the elected, the mayor is "a completely irreplaceable level". And, he insists, no matter the size of the city, the role of the mayor remains as essential as ever. "This is what is interesting with this level of proximity. Whether you are a very large city like Washington or Mexico, New Delhi or Milan, or a smaller city like Saint-Omer, with this health crisis, we noticed that the citizens addressed their mayor because anyway, it was the first political level to which they could turn in relation to a completely unprecedented crisis. "
And in the streets of the town of 15,000 inhabitants, where François Decoster is exercising his second mandate, the inhabitants are indeed rather laudatory when judging the action of their mayor.
"Fortunately, he has arrived to beautify Saint-Omer," says Daniel, for example, citing in particular the renovated Italian-style theater.
And to continue: "He is very good. He watches over old people like me, he comes to see us."
"He is committed to doing good for his inhabitants"
For her part, Ludivine, head of a hairdressing salon, welcomes the initiatives taken by François Decoster at the start of the health crisis.
"He put up a lot of masks which were distributed in the city center for traders, he also gave aid for rents", she enumerates.
In order to support the most isolated, the councilor has also organized phone calls, the carrying of races by volunteers, or even Facebook live to break the isolation.
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"He is always committed to doing good for its inhabitants", boasts Steffie Decocq, deputy in charge of the municipal public service. An elected member of the opposition, she concedes that François Decoster is "a good, even a very good communicator". But she believes, however, that this possible label of the best mayor in the world would be a bit exaggerated.