In an interview with our newspaper, the president of the mayors of France, David Lisnard, assigned a task to the mayor of Trèbes, Eric Ménassi. This task involves raising awareness among elected officials regarding crisis situations such as terrorist attacks, floods, and earthquakes.
Ils sont en première ligne pour n’importe quel problème dans leur commune. Les maires servent de repaire à leurs concitoyens. Sont-ils prêts en cas de catastrophe naturelle ou d’attentat ? C’est la question que s’est posée David Lisnard, maire de Cannes et président de l’association des maires de France. Alors, il a confié une mission au maire de Trèbes, Eric Menassi. Le premier magistrat de la commune audoise a vécu des drames en 2018 : des inondations meurtrières et un attentat dans un supermarché faisant trois victimes dans le magasin.
Cette mission, dont il est devenu le coprésident avec son homologue Sébastien Leroy, maire de Mandelieu-la-Napoule (Alpes-Maritimes), vise à sensibiliser les élus face à ces catastrophes. “On te demande de t’organiser sur quelque chose d’impossible à prévoir”, souligne Eric Ménassi. Pour ce faire, les deux premiers magistrats ont créé un groupe de travail en 2022. “Les maires des petites, moyennes et grandes villes sont concernés”, ajoute l’édile de Trèbes.
Une faible connaissance
In the face of the unthinkable, raising awareness about these sensitive issues has become a priority: “We have observed that many mayors have a limited understanding of the risk,” notes Stéphanie Bidault, who is responsible for this working group. The foundation of this group was established through meetings with elected officials. “When the exchanges come from one of our peers sharing their experiences, we make progress more quickly and become more sensitive,” adds Eric Ménassi.
Furthermore, a roadmap was drawn up following these meetings. “We have decided on a methodology to best popularize what needs to be done in this type of situation,” says Stéphanie Bidault. Since February 2023, as an experiment, it has been presented in about a dozen mayoral associations. “We organize exchanges with local actors and mayors. Among them are the Department, the police, the gendarmerie, the prefect, and the Sdis. We present the tools and resources to be implemented,” explains the mission officer.
After completing their tour of France, Eric Ménassi and Sébastien Leroy will assess their work in 2024 during the upcoming mayors’ congress. “We want to extract the best practices from it.” In order to make them accessible to all mayors, a webpage has been created on the website of the Association of Mayors of France. “There is also an awareness kit available. We also offer support sessions for municipal plans,” concludes Stéphanie Bidault.
Until then, exchanges and meetings between elected officials will continue.
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