This week we stop off in Walloon Picardy, in Beloeil, where we find Bastien Marlot, who has become its mayor.
A role that suits him perfectly and more than comfortably. Despite holding an absolute majority, he invited the PS to join him in a more than solid majority of 21 out of 23 councillors.
You said: “Mayor, the finest of all mandates”. Can we conclude that we're dealing with a happy mayor here?
Very happy to be serving my citizens every day. Elected to the municipal council for 24 years, including 6 years as alderman between 2006 and 2012, I very quickly found my footing, in full collaboration with the municipal staff and my colleagues on the College and the Council. As the youngest mayor in the history of Beloeil and buoyed by my personal score, I very quickly grasped the meaning and duty of my new responsibilities.
Going back a little in time, in 2018 the PS lost its absolute majority. This time round, the PS drops to 9 seats while the liberals on the MR+ list win 12. What did you put in place over the past six years to achieve such a result?
We put together an extraordinary team of 23 competent candidates who are present on the ground. It's a collective victory. An absolute majority for the liberal family in Beloeil is historic. And this team is continuing its momentum, which is what makes me happiest. I try to be a unifying, bringing-together figure.
Like many municipalities, Beloeil has to deal with a certain amount of road insecurity, anti-social behaviour and roads that are difficult to maintain. It also has to fight drug use and trafficking. So there's a huge security challenge in your municipality. How do you explain this and how do you plan to tackle it?
Security is one of our priorities, and we have already decided to restore the indexation of the municipal grant to our Beloeil/Leuze police zone, which will free up additional resources. We also want to tackle anti-social behaviour, particularly environmental offences, by acquiring fixed and mobile cameras.
The municipality of Beloeil is of course known for its château, but we imagine that's not the only tourist attraction in the area?
The magic of Beloeil has worked its way through the centuries thanks to the presence of the château and the princely family, but that's not the only asset. The Aubechies/Beloeil archaeological site is another important tourist attraction in our municipality. A large part of our territory is made up of forests, notably the Stambruges forest, which includes the Mer de Sable nature reserve, part of Wallonia's major heritage. I could also mention our very rich community and folklore life.