Fanny Lacroix, mayor of a 500-inhabitant commune in Isère, publishes an essay titled 'Au fil du village' to encourage atypical profiles to engage in local politics. At 40 years old, as her first term nears its end, she advocates for professionalizing and time-limiting the mayoral mandate. Her personal journey highlights the challenges and opportunities of rural engagement.
Fanny Lacroix, 40 years old, was not predestined to become mayor of a small rural commune. Settled in the Trièves, a medium mountain area on the border of Isère and Hautes-Alpes, she followed her partner from Paris, where she worked as an urban planner. In 2014, she became town hall secretary in Saint-Sébastien, which merged in 2017 with Cordéac to form Châtel-en-Trièves, a village of 500 inhabitants at the foot of Dévoluy.
Elected mayor of this new commune, she developed a culture of co-construction with residents. She is also vice-president of the Association des maires ruraux de France (AMRF), where she challenges traditional codes. Politically engaged, she joined the Place publique party before running in the 2022 legislative elections for MoDem.
In her essay 'Au fil du village' (Utopia editions, 208 pages, 10 euros), published as her first term ends, Fanny Lacroix traces this path built on personal challenges: 'chiche?'. She calls for professionalizing the mayoral mandate and limiting its duration, aiming to convince people distant from the typical sociological profile of communal elected officials to embark on the local political adventure.