A British woman from the north of France has told of her pride at becoming mayor of her commune – the final consecration of her journey of integration in France since moving in 2000.
Maureen Searle, 71, now represents the French Republic in Mont-Saint-Eloi, a village of around 1,000 in Pas-de-Calais, near Arras.
When The Connexion spoke to her, she had just been inspecting asbestos in a garage roof, was preparing to meet an engaged couple whose marriage she was set to celebrate, and had visited the departmental prefect for the Nord the previous day.
“All newly-elected mayors see the préfet and he explains your role: some of which I had known already, as I had been adjointe [deputy].
"But I was surprised when he told me I now have police powers – he said I could arrest people and detain them in my office if I wanted to.
“I said, ‘I’m sorry, but that’s one bit I’m not going to do. I don’t mind telling someone off if their dog has left its droppings in the square, but I’m not going to grab anyone and handcuff them. I’m only 1m 60cm’.”
Mrs Searle, a pharmacist by training, grew up in Oxfordshire then briefly lived in Arras - near her current home - with her parents, who had moved there due to her father’s work with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC).
She met her English husband, Michael, when the family invited him, as a new young colleague, for a meal, and went on to join him on further postings to countries such as Greece and Iran.
A big move
It was not practical for a British woman to run a pharmacy in these locations, so she largely supported her husband’s career.
The couple then moved to Mont-Saint-Eloi in 2000 and after her husband retired in 2002, Mrs Searle began working as an industrial research chemist in Paris, commuting on the train for 10 years.
After they arrived in the commune, as they did not speak much French, they helped with British memorial ceremonies, at British cemeteries.
“But it evolved, and I became more at ease with the language,” she said.
“I got involved with Canadians as well. For the centenary of the First World War, they asked me to help with a ‘living memorial’.
They said 500 people died at the Battle of Arras, so we want to plant 500 Canadian maple trees.
“I also got the French and Canadian scouts involved, and that was the point when the mayor said ‘I want you on the council’. I was terrified, I didn’t know what was involved.
“At first [after being elected in the 2014 elections] I was observing and didn’t dare to lift my hand when we held votes.”
Brexit shock
When the Brexit vote came in 2016, it came as an unexpected shock.
She then got a call from the mayor of a nearby commune where she had been giving a few hours of English lessons a week in the primary school, to say she would have to resign, and the mayor of her village said she could not stay on the council.
“I thought: I’m being excluded from everything now, even though I’m the same person as before.”
The préfet also told her “if you’re in a government job, you’ll have to leave, unless you become French”.
It was in due course clarified that Britons could remain on councils until the 2020 elections, despite the vote (it was also agreed that those in ‘fonctionnaire’ public sector jobs, including school teaching, could remain doing it, if the work started prior to 2021 when Brexit took effect).
She applied to become French in 2019 and was daunted by the long list of supporting documents. “I’ve done all sorts of applications, including difficult visas for certain countries, but this was exceptional,” she said.
Her prefecture interview was also unusually long and demanding, she said.
She asked why she was asked so many questions about French history and institutions – over an hour and a quarter – while some candidates took 20 minutes.
“He said, ‘Madame, you’ve said in your application you want to go higher in the council and eventually go for mayor. We’re not going to give the République to just anyone’.”
Confirmation
She received confirmation of nationality four months before the deadline to stand, in contrast to another British councillor interviewed by The Connexion, for whom it sadly came a week late.
She cried when she received the letter because she felt so emotional - her husband thought she must have been turned down.
It felt good to be accepted as a French compatriot, she said. She also felt the difference in how other people related to her. “I was just Maureen, not so much l’anglaise.”
She was re-elected, and this time as adjointe – which is only possible if a person has French nationality.
She considered the path to becoming mayor, but realised that a French mayor has an integral role in the community, not ceremonial as in many UK towns, and she was worried that because she had not been born there and was not part of a typical local farming family, she would not be seen as legitimate.
“But everyone pushed me forward for it, saying I was the best for the job”.
She said it was because as an adjointe she was quick to give hands-on help when people reported difficulties.
“I’d say ‘I’m coming now’, and they’d say ‘you can’t, I’m in a beet field’, and I’d just say ‘it’s fine, I have my boots in the car’. On another day I’d find myself in the middle of a river, with rats around me. Nothing stopped me.”
She also sat on the intercommunal body for the Arras area, where she could take the village’s concerns to people such as the préfet and sous-préfet and senators, which was appreciated.
Sense of reverence
As this year’s elections approached, she was interim mayor, as the previous mayor had stood down for health reasons.
She added: “I represent the République now, which is really an honour, coming from the UK with British parents.
“Now people call me ‘Mme le maire’ and I am adjusting to it.
“When I met the préfet it was different in the way he addressed me. The sense of reverence was different. And he addressed me as ‘tu’ [because he treated her as being on the same level].
“It’s made me realise that if you really want something, you should go for it, despite all the hassles.
“And if you are British in France, if you want to be fully integrated, help the mairie. When they see you doing that, you’re becoming one of them, and it’s easier.”
Mrs Searle still loves English breakfasts and has started inviting people to afternoon teas at the mairie – though the other locals have not adopted milk in the tea.
When families come to the mairie she speaks to the children in English, so they can practice.
“I’m trying to make it fun to integrate Britain into France by little things. I’ll give them mince pies at Christmas - things like that.”
Her other plans are to modernise, with new computers and video surveillance and a new council meeting room with a modern connected projector so they can cut down on paperwork.
She is only aware of one other British (dual national) mayor in France. She is also Mont-Saint-Eloi’s first female mayor.
Asked about her fluent French, she said she developed a very ‘adaptable’ ear for languages after living in many different parts of the world.
