• Marie Cau has made history along with her small village in France, Tilloy-lez-Marchiennes.
• Because she has been elected as Mayor of her village council. But the unique thing is that she is the first transgender Mayor of France.
• It was her fellow members of the local council of Tilloy-lez-Marchiennes that elevated her to that position.

---

Marie Cau and her mayorship

Marie Cau comes from a small village in the North of France which has a population of just 600. And this weekend they elected their first transgender Mayor.

The fellow members of Marie Cau at the local council of Tilloy-lez-Marchiennes. elected her as their mayor. The elections were held in March and the results are out now. The result was almost unanimous.

After she won the elections, Marie Cau told reporters:

“I am not an activist,”

She wants to focus on politics in the local Municipality. And Marie elaborated:

“People did not elect me because I was transgender or against, they elected a program.”

“That’s what’s interesting: when things become normal, you don’t get singled out.”

The gender equality minister of France, Marlène Schiappa was very happy for Marie. She expressed her support for Marie on her Twitter account.

She wrote:

“Trans visibility, and therefore the fight against transphobia, also requires the exercise of political or public responsibilities. Congratulations to Marie Cau!”

La visibilité trans, et donc la lutte contre la transphobie, passe aussi par l'exercice de responsabilités politiques ou publiques.
Félicitations à Marie Cau ! #démocratie #LGBT+ https://t.co/1QEap6redr

— ?? MarleneSchiappa (@MarleneSchiappa) May 24, 2020

Stéphanie Nicot, the co-founder of France’s National Transgender Association, said:

“our fellow citizens are more and more progressive”, and vote the value of individuals, regardless of their gender identity.”

About Marie’s life and work

Marie has resided in this small village near the Belgian border for over two decades. She is a mother and has three children. And her current age is 57. She has acquired training in agriculture and horticulture and is an engineer.

Marie started transitioning around 15 years back. She is openly transgender. But she was lucky as her village did not condemn her. She has lived her life without any discrimination in her village.

Marie also is aware that it is a rare feat. She revealed:

“It’s rare,”

“People are kind, despite some flaws.”

Constituent Hervé Fontanel also stated that the gender of the elected Mayor does not matter. And told Euronews:

“she has lived here for 20 years, you can see how she works.”

About Marie’s current responsibility

Marie is modest when it comes to talking about her work experience. She confessed:

“[I have a] blank sheet, an almost non-existent budget, a school that hasn’t been reopened yet and many other coronavirus-related challenges,”

The deficiency of money and current coronavirus-related global problems are major issues and challenges for Marie. It has made her job more difficult.

She used to work on sustainable development, the local economy, and short circuits, and additionally on social and better living together.

Also, read on Fairest: Meredith Talusan’s memoir about her transgender life, childhood, and relationship!

Marie told Euronews and gathered media reporters:

“The social bond has disappeared. The people wanted a change.”