Les voeux du maire

The ceremony of the mayor wishing everyone a happy new year and laying out the programme for the next year -- the first time it's happened since 2020. I'm glad we were here for it.

It was a somewhat stripped down one compared to previous years, thanks to budget constraints. A few bits of charcuterie, cubes of cheese, bread, left-over Christmas chocolates, apple tart. And no music. There is always enough wine though (hic). Good to see so many people -- there was an awful lot of hugging and kissing going on though. In previous years this event invariably preceded an outbreak of gastric flu -- let's hope it's nothing worse this time!

It's Serge's 40th year as mayor this year -- he was the youngest mayor in France when first elected -- and he announced that this will be his last term, meaning he'll step down in 2026. It's a bit of a conundrum wondering who will step up to replace him. Being the mayor of a small commune is a hard and largely thankless task.  And Serge is one of the best, always ready to stand up for the village. The farewell party will be epic.