Mayor (France)

In France, a mayor (maire in French) is chairperson of the municipal council, which organizes the work and deliberates on municipal matters. The mayor also has significant powers and his or her own responsibilities, such as the responsibility for the activities of municipal police and for the management of municipal staff.

The mayor is also the representative of the state in the commune. As such the mayor is a and a . The term of office for a mayor is six years.

From 1789 to 1799 municipal officials (mayors) were directly elected for 2 years and re-elected by the active citizens of the commune with taxpayers contributing at least 3 days of work to the commune. Those who were eligible could instead pay a tax equivalent to not less than 10 days of work.

In 1799 the constitution of 22 Frimaire year VIII (13 December 1799) revoked the direct election of the mayor, with mayors of communes of less than 5,000 inhabitants being appointed by the prefect. This constitution established the nomination of mayors and councilors. After 1831 mayors were appointed (by the king for communes with more than 3,000 inhabitants, by the prefect for smaller), but councilors were elected for six years.

From 3 July 1848 to 1851 mayors were elected by the municipal council for communes with less than 6,000 inhabitants.

From 1851 to 1871 mayors were appointed by the prefect for communes with less than 3000 inhabitants and for a term of 5 years from 1855 on.

Since 1871 mayors have been elected by their peers by the municipal council following their election by universal suffrage.

There are, however, six French communes that do not elect their mayor by universal suffrage with the mayor being appointed by the Prefect. Specifically these are villages which were devastated during the Battle of Verdun in 1916 and never rebuilt because of large amounts of unexploded ordnance and land pollution. These are Bezonvaux, Beaumont-en-Verdunois, Cumières-le-Mort-Homme, Fleury-devant-Douaumont, Haumont-près-Samogneux and Louvemont-Côte-du-Poivre.

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Wikipedia