local elections

Voted for the first time ,had to get the nice french people to explain proceedure ,and yes it does seem a strange way of crossing people off you dont like or want [thier words not mine ]didnot cross off as i only recognice a few names and donot know the others ,and nobody here tells you winners losers or anything much ,i didnot know there was another vote the following sunday [see what i mean   ]

Hi Myriam - thanks for all this; I've been having a bit of a "celeb" day! Can't quite believe it all. Oh, and I found the officially publicised stuff on the web so have been browsing other communes' results too!

The tree thing does happen round here apparently as a previous incumbent got a cherry tree! Do you think they would let me have a magnolia - I've always wanted one of those! How exciting, Inkflo, hope you get a tree too.

As for the party thing, then I hope that happens too as it will be great to say "thank you" to those who voted for me. K.

Maybe its just the creuse area that doesnot bother !!sad as it sounds great in your neck of the woods .

I'm now registered for the euro elections and the local    so simple I thought it would be more complicated a very nice secretary filled my forms in without asking her to   

Glad you can vote in the Euro elections lady of leisure, and Blakevine, hope you get your magnolia tree.
We're electing the Mayor on Saturday & then we've all been invited somewhere for drinks.
Then it should calm down and we can get on with the task of sorting out the work we promised to do.

And after the election of Monsieur ou Madame le Maire, Inkflo, there will probably be the election of members for all the sub-committees or commissions. Something which again should be arosé with a coup or two   !

Myriam wrote:And after the election of Monsieur ou Madame le Maire, Inkflo, there will probably be the election of members for all the sub-committees or commissions. Something which again should be arosé with a coup or two   !

... hic!

Similar thing happening here; we are eagerly awaiting the result of the 2nd tour as there is still one seat to be filled here......after that we are celebrating and then I need to get out there and do stuff!

And are there any issues you want to improve or change in your communities?

One of the new candidates here, the one with the most votes, wants to improve the communication between the Conseil Municipal and the inhabitants.

I would like to set up a "jardechange" event for next Spring.
A morning when the commune can bring their excess plants and seedlings that they don't want and swap them for something they do need.
No sales, purely to exchange what we have in excess for something we would like to have in the garden.
Not sure if it will be popular or how we're going to arrange it, but worth a try.
We have also promised to sort the broadband, edf cables, phone wires etc out & get rid of the horrible concrete posts.
I also want to get the snow cleared on the side roads during severe winters. I'm sure there will be other things that crop up in the future.

So, the 2nd tour was interesting with 1 candidate from each list going head to head. The winner got 67 votes and the other 58; we now have our chosen 11. The meeting for voting for our Maire and the adjoint(s) is next Saturday. The agenda came today and it reveals a long list of actions where we appoint people to said responsibilities. I'm earmarked for one major responsibility; more on that after Saturday. However, aside from the official list, there is a desire to help the local children with their English language so I can add that to my list. The local church is always shut and I am interested in trying to find a way of opening it up. I would like to do a written guide (for tourists) too. I also like Inkflo's plant swap idea and might see if I can muster up some interest with that here (hope you don't mind, Inkflo).

As for the tree business - I didn't say anything, but, I have now been told I get a tree! I was asked what I like, but, they are not sure Magnolia is on the list.....my second choice is a medlar...not sure if that is on the list either! The mere fact I'm getting one thrills me. Apparently, we all travel round to each newly elected person's house and plant a tree in their garden, but, I'm not sure how or when this all happens (may be I'll get to know on Saturday),

Talk about in at the deep end....and I thought I'd come to France for a rest. Still, mustn't grumble! K

Sounds like you will be busy Blakevine.
No problem if you want to take the plant exchange idea up, it will be interesting to see what reaction you get.
The teach English idea is good, I know many French parents who would be keen to improve their child's English language skills.
We received a Fountain pen and biro set, and some bits & pieces from the Conseil to help in our note taking etc. No tree, but I'm not sure i would have room for any more in our garden.
The other thing I want to explore is some sort of shopping help for the elderly & infirm during the snowy weather. I don't know if many people would benefit by it, but our elderly neighbours had a problem getting bread and basics one year, and although we couldn't get our car out either, other people in the village were able to and I'm sure some of them would have brought supplies back if asked.
So we'll have to see how it all pans out. Good luck with your meeting.

Great to see that you have plenty of ideas to improve on services and invent new events, activities, etc, Blakevine and Inkflow.

Wishing you both lots of luck and inspiration in your new role as élue.

Funny to hear about the gardenswap. My French friend and I are in the process of setting up a "troc", which means no money changes hands and one can swap tomato plants, for example against a pot of confiture or whatever. As far as I am aware, there are no restrictions on an event like this and no conditions that can be put on it. We plan to hold the trocs once a month from April to September. We were inspired by the Bourse de Graines in Cornil, Corrèze, last month.

aLL SOUNDS GREAT IN YOUR NECK OF THE WOODS ,VERY DIFFERANT HERE ,had to ask if marie had been reinstated ,no mention of any soiree no mention of anything 'as a brit just not accepted ,just to vote no communication   thats the creuse for you .

redburmese wrote:aLL SOUNDS GREAT IN YOUR NECK OF THE WOODS ,VERY DIFFERANT HERE ,had to ask if marie had been reinstated ,no mention of any soiree no mention of anything 'as a brit just not accepted ,just to vote no communication   thats the creuse for you .

I just checked out this site and it gives you all the results for your area.
http://resultats-elections.bfmtv.com/election-municipale-creuse-23

Well, we all met up last Saturday and it was eye-opening to be sat there with our new team and the general public (as I had not appreciated that even THIS meeting was open to the public). We did all the elections and Madame le Maire was elected along with her 3 adjoints. Then came the "designation" to whatever the role was and I got the one I was earmarked for, namely, the responsibility for our local gite etape....along with a Salle.....Having spent 2+ hours in the Convocation I then spent another hour trying to get to grips with the gite stuff (whilst hiding my grumbles at missing the rugby on the tele - Heineken Cup). I then thought a joke was being played on the debutante as I was told to expect a visitor to the gite on Monday. Sunday afternoon was spent ploughing through paperwork (stopping to watch Toulon v Leinster). So there was I pegging out the washing on Monday morning and my husband called to say the Mairie secretary was on the phone and could I go as the visitor to the gite had arrived. Thankfully the outgoing Maire was there too and a couple of hours later the visitor was installed and I had pinned down the old Maire on various items of paperwork. Another few hours on Tuesday afternoon brought me closer to understanding the vast number of keys and there were also a few anomalies sorted. Just when I thought today would be work-free I got a call to meet a potential visitor and his parents to talk through the workings of the gite and the Salle.....down to where were the breakfast bowls, where was the music system and where could he put his cle USB......to which I nearly told him!!!

After all this I am feeling exhausted but so proud of myself that from O level french and coming to france for a rest I have improved my French no end and managed to handle these 3 locals this morning. Haven't solved the problem of the port for his cle USB or the missing grille off the outside bar-b-q but oh boy did I feel good when the mother was trying to describe where they lived and I could tell her I knew the place as we had bought our winter wood supply from a man in the same village - she was impressed!

I feel this also links with the other posting about language. There are no English around our hamlet and this has made me learn faster - very fast indeed.

and so here we are having just returned from the 8 Mai "celebrations" at the war memorial (which was attended by some 30 people of varying ages and was very emotional) followed by the drinks/nibbles in the Mairie. I hadn't been back 5 minutes when I had a phone call from one of the adjoints asking if I would like a tree. But of course I replied........and then I was told to ring the Maire tomorrow to discuss it as I would be having one planted in my garden on Saturday after our aperitif with the locals. Oh, and in the evening the Conseil Municipal would go out for a meal..Being me and with it being so soon I asked a few questions like do I have to go and buy the tree....do we go round to each others gardens....where will the meal be.....no forthcoming answers until I have spoken with the Maire - which should not be today as it is a holiday! And here I thought I was going to be able to have a party for my tree planting, but, not sure now until I speak with the Maire. K.

Thank you, Blakevine, for reporting back and letting us know how you are getting on. It must be very exciting for you and don't worry if you have lots of questions, it's good for the existing élus as well to have some fresh blood in their midst.

Did you mention the word "magnolia"???   If the tree planting ceremony already takes place this Saturday and your pre-meeting is on Friday (tomorrow), they can hardly expect you to start baking quiches and cakes straight away after the meeting tomorrow, so they have probably already organised something I would think. If you wish to still have a party around yours, you could always invite people to celebrate on another day. Any excuse for a party, that goes for the French as well.

Well done and enjoy.

No invitation or news here just give us your vote and then nothing 'ime sure the french here celebrated at the marie but was not informed or invited ,the creuse here does not seem as friendly as the Haught Vienne ,have lived in this hamlet for 5 years and cannot say we feel that accepted ,do have some french enough to be understood ,and have given some food evenings and supplied food ect for the hamlets get togethers in summer so not through lack of trying ,still we will keep trying       

at the risk of boring others........I wasn't kidding....Had a phone call from the Maire Thursday early evening. Had to shoot out and buy my tree on Friday (...yes I did get my magnolia...) and then to shops for more drink and nibbles as I thought it was just going to be the Maire's team....Tim spent most of Friday digging a hole and we mowed the grass, strimmed etc and we thought we were ready. Saturday 11h00 arrived and the team greeted the local community at the Salle for apero and nibbles. By gum can't the French drink.... We then planted a tree for the community and I then learnt that starting at 13h30 we would be going to the newly elected members' houses to plant their trees. What I hadn't appreciated was that the whole community was invited to tag along to what seemed like a massive pub crawl around our hamlets. We thought we had drawn the short straw as our ceremony was at 19h00. Having had drinks and nibbles at all the other six houses we thought we were safe, but, everyone seemed to get a second wind come 19h00 and 35+ folks turned up and more or less ate us out of house and home. The old drinks cabinet suffered a mega shock too. The ceremony itself was fab and I showed off by leading everyone in la Marseillaise........followed by a bit of a bop with an old french bloke! After this 16 of us went to the local restaurant to celebrate our victorious day and finally left for home at 23h00.

This morning we tidied up around the magnolia and put in some stakes and watered it properly; it stands very proud outside our house and I'm sure folks will come and see how it is doing.

Now I know what to expect when the French descend upon you in large numbers so we plan to do it all over again at some point in June or July and then we can extend the invite to those we had said we would include at our party! (Been here 1 year in June so that's a good excuse too).
K.

Lovely story, K, must have been exhausting  !

Well, I don't know about you, Inkflo, but, my time since May has just disappeared.....my responsibility is for our local gite (20 personnes). I have had a very interesting time greeting those who have rented rooms. I've had the single gent who came for a couple of days creative painting and caused no trouble at all leaving a very nice note on the kitchen table. He was followed by madame and her clan who turned up to "collect the key" which in their minds involved bringing 3 cars and remorques laiden with stuff and I had to wait for them unpacking it all - she then left with one of the bedroom keys (insisting she didn't), but,then turned up at the Mairie with it the following week. Oh, and then there was the wedding party who brought a new borne baby insisting the temperature was 20degrees minimum (the radiator thermostats were off because it was so hot) - where was the kettle (!) and could she borrow an ironing board....she was then followed by someone who seem to like our pillows as one disappeared and then the young trendy couple turned up 2 hours late (bearing in mind it's 15.50 per night) and she had used the last cheque and he had no cash so they were dispatched to the "local" cash till which meant a wait of 40minutes....and it goes on......... I could write a book.

So, it has been an entertaining few months and I'm hoping to have time over the Summer to iron out some of the wrinkles...oh..but it's August and I should be on holiday like the rest of France.........!

Crikey Blakevine, I'm not as busy as you!
I have attended a lot of meetings, we've made a few decisions and try and keep in touch with all the locals,
I would never have the time to do what you do, but great that you're enjoying it.