June 30 and July 7. Two dates that feel like summer, the end of school, going on vacation for some… Not this year. The dissolution of the National Assembly has happened and these two Sundays will be synonymous with voting throughout France.
In town halls, schools and sometimes… community halls. Enough to cause some cold sweats among elected officials. Jerome Field confirms. Just after learning of the organization of the next two legislative elections, the mayor of La Roche-Clermault (Indre-et-Loire) quickly wanted to check that the usual places were accessible.
“Cancelling the party is out of the question”
“I called my town hall secretary around 9 p.m. on Sunday evening and she confirmed to me what I feared: the room was reserved for the weekend of the 7th,” the councilor tells 20 minutes. So, no second round in this town near Chinon? Impossible not to predict it. “But out of the question of canceling the party of this couple who are celebrating their sixty years of marriage,” he adds, he who therefore… requested a relocation of the ballot boxes to the prefecture. “I’m hopeful, especially since the school is nearby. We will sit in the canteen, that will mean fewer tables to move! »
Other elected officials have sometimes been less conciliatory with the demonstration organizers. Not for the pleasure of spoiling the party but simply because it was impossible to do otherwise. In Amilly (Loiret), the traditional Europe Festival, an event which attracts “10,000 to 15,000 visitors” is canceled. “The two events are not compatible,” we explain at the town hall. “But we are going to try to schedule a mini-festival at the start of the school year with the groups that were planned. »
“It was incompatible”
In Caromb, in Vaucluse, no fallback solution is possible: the Fig Festival will not take place. “It is always organized at this time because it corresponds to the maturity of the fruit. But after that, it’s July 14 and all the other dates are taken,” regrets Mayor Valérie Michelier, speaking of “big economic impacts.” But again, no choice: “it was incompatible, particularly in terms of parking and many elected officials from other municipalities, who are participating in the big parade, would not have been able to come. »
This disappointment is experienced by others throughout France. In Rennes, for example, the city has canceled around ten end-of-year celebrations in schools. Festivals, sporting events and other events are suffering the same fate with this disrupted calendar. Or they are moved. In Paimpol (Côtes-d’Armor), the firefighters’ association will finally organize its ball… at the barracks. The village hall has been requisitioned. “It’ll be fine, it doesn’t change that much for us in terms of organization,” we assure the firefighters, understanding.
Our file on the legislative elections
In Gresswiller (Bas-Rhin), the Pretzel Festival will also take place. Without being modified. “There were too many costs already incurred to cancel,” explains Mayor Pierre Thielen. So, like some of his colleagues, he also asked to move the polling stations. “At the sports complex. We have a large parking lot, that will be fine,” he believes while also waiting for a response from the prefecture. Then it will be time to prepare for this new election. Then, perhaps, to enjoy the other summer Sundays.