Close to citizens, they were often targeted during the various crises that shook the country this year. Attacks against mayors are expected to increase by 15% in 2023, according to a Cevipof survey published this Sunday, November 19. In the crosshairs during the riots this summer, city councilors had already experienced an explosion of violence in 2022 (+ 32%), with 2,265 complaints and reports.
In detail, 69% of the 8,000 mayors surveyed say they have been victims of incivility, compared to 53% in 2020. 39% of them have suffered insults and insults, compared to 29% in 2020. Another worrying point of the study: a substantial increase in online attacks, with 27% of city councilors having been violently arrested on social networks this year, compared to 20% three years ago.
Result: the rate of resignations increased by 30% compared to the previous mandate, an element revealing what the survey describes as “republican fatigue”. Among other explanatory factors, the study notes a “feeling of helplessness”, but also increasingly complex and time-consuming missions.
Asked about the changes to be made in order to remedy this situation, 50% of mayors proposed increasing their remuneration. “If they are not committed to making money, they are not prepared to lose it either,” notes the author of the study.
With nearly a million candidates for municipal elections, local commitment is “not yet threatened” and “mayors are resisting the accumulation of crises”, however, the author argues in a note of optimism.