Student mayor: Rémy Dick is one of the youngest mayors in France

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Mayor of Florange Rémy Dick is one of the youngest mayors in France. This energetic and incredibly motivated mayor was elected in 2017 for the mayor’s office when he was only 22.

Since he started leading Florange, this north-eastern French city has seen many positive and radical changes. The citizen’s everyday life has drastically improved because of the new mayor and his team which consists of 200 people. 

Rémy Dick is doing an excellent job in handling all mayor’s duties such as handling budgets, issuing building permits, dealing with primary schools, roads, local transport, and public health issues such as pollution and trash collection. 

Besides being a mayor, Rémy Dick is also a part-time history student at Sorbonne in Paris. Every day he manages to study from 9 to 5 Monday to Friday. After that he manages other duties that are related to being a city mayor. Additionally, he often participates at assemblies and evening events, all for a monthly salary of €1,500. 

During the election period, Rémy Dick had to put his studies on hold. But, as soon as he won the elections, he has continued his history studies.

“Being a mayor and a student is compatible outside elections, but as we’re in the middle of the campaign, I admit I’ve skipped classes. Every available moment is spent on preparing and distributing leaflets and canvassing”, Rémy explained during the elections.

Rémy Dick admitted that when he first became the mayor, he had some difficult times in the beginning. He had been a member of the local council for two years but lacked experience and knowledge of political codes. 

“It was a tumultuous beginning. In the first six months, you ask yourself every day what you’re doing there and why you got into it. I had to earn respect from staff. I’m in charge of 200 public sector workers, I have to give them instructions. It took time to have the necessary authority, for them to respect me as an employer and as their mayor”, the mayor stated. 

Rémy Dick is a proud member of the right-wing Republican party and his biggest inspiration is former president Nicolas Sarkozy who ran for re-election in 2007 with the slogan “work more to earn more”. 

He is now interested in getting things done and improving many different aspects of the quality of life for the citizens of Florange.

He has the ambition to attract investments and give a more positive image of his hometown by drawing more job opportunities. Florange has a population of 12,000, but there are many unemployed people in the city. The investment of ArcelorMittal, a steelmaker company, secured 85 jobs and created 15 new ones on site, but that is not enough for this mayor as he plans to create even more job opportunities in the future. 

As a young mayor, Rémy Dick listens to the citizens and wants to improve their living environment and has a particular interest in questions that deal with problems such as air or water pollution.

He says that at the beginning of his mayor mandate, people didn’t take him quite seriously. That is why he had to make an extra effort to prove himself to all the people. He succeeded in his mission and now is a very respected mayor who loves his town and helps his citizens in many different ways on a daily basis. (Photo credit: AFP)