town hall meeting

as i am now on the French electoral roll (only for local and European elections), i knew i'd have to start finding out who was doing what in town, getting to know the local politicians and deciding who would be worth voting for. this was the second reason i went to the town hall meeting. the first was that they'd be voting on the new zoning, which i was against. i'd been getting information about it for a couple of months, thanks to people totally engaged in the fight. so off to the meeting i went.

i got a bit worried when i saw the agenda had 27 points. i know they only meet once a month, but still... luckily, the zoning was point 3, so i could always leave after that if it took too long. and boy did it! that issue was debated for a good one and a half hour. it was really interesting to see how things were being discussed and listen to the politicians' points of view, questions, arguments and rebuttals. most of the people who spoke seemed against the project, but that didn't stop it being voted in: 20 voices against 9. and it was a secret ballot, too, thanks to some quick thinking by one of the guys involved. but clearly, our cause didn't have a chance.