Les agriculteurs sarthois dans les conseils municipaux

Abstract

ABSTRACT The role of farmers on the municipal councils of la Sarthe. The author has made a study of the professions exerted by municipal councillors in the communes of La Sarthe (excluding Le Mans) in 1971, 1953 and 1935. The results show that few mayors belong to the former landed aristocracy ; there are increasingly fewer farmers on municipal councils, which mirrors their disappearance from rural society : whereas farmers and land-oOners formed the majority in almost every commune in 1935 and in 80 % of them in 1953, this was the case in only 58 % of the communes in 1971. However, farmer-mayors or mayors whose professions are closely linked with the agricultural milieu are more numerous than one might expect : farmers have thus retained a certain prestige while factory-workers are very poorly represented among councillors and are even fewer among mayors. Virtually no farmers' wives are to be found on councils. Thus there is still a discrepancy between the social reality and its reflection in the composition of these municipal councils.