“Stop attacks on municipal staff”. This is what we can read on the posters put up since mid-October in the streets of Wattignies and in the town’s buildings open to the public. The city of 16,000 inhabitants, located in the Lille metropolis, has just launched a communication campaign to fight against incivility, insults, mockery, and other violence faced by its staff – 270 agents in total. These facts are becoming more and more frequent, according to the municipal team.

“I remember a lady who showed up to redo her identity card, says an agent who has worked for two and a half years in the town hall’s civil status service. But I told her the photos weren’t suitable, and she started to get upset. It ended in ‘dirty whore’ and she slammed the door.”

Sometimes, the mayor himself must leave his office and even intervene to interrupt an altercation. “I have been confronted several times with unacceptable behavior, and it is sometimes up to me to calm things down, explains Alain Pluss. And the main concern is that I cannot file a complaint in place of the agents taken to task. So one of the solutions is communication. We must lead by example and show that we will not give up.

Three posters and a video

The town hall thus created posters, with three different visuals, which are now posted on street furniture and in city buildings open to the public, such as the town hall, the CCAS, or the municipal police. These signs remind condemnations encouraged in cases of verbal or physical attacks: between 7,500 and 30,000 euros fine, and between 6 months and 2 years in prison.

The municipality also toured an awareness video with the help of the Lyse professional theater company. In total, 7 skits inspired by the experiences of the victim agents were reproduced, and will be available on social networks.

WATTIGNIES FACES UP WITH INCIVILITY

For the agent we met, who is on the front line, this campaign is going in the right direction. “It’s always good to have a reminder. To tell people again that we must be respectful, that we are there to support them. We love our work, and we are here to be of service to them.”

She hopes this will lead to changes in attitudes. This is also what William, a resident of Wattignies, who condemns all types of violence, wants. “Changing mentalities is hard. In Wattignies, there is a lot of social diversity, with people who come from different backgrounds. It’s not easy, but you have to give it a try!”

For his part, the mayor of the town also wants this communication to lead to a change in the most deviant behaviors. And Alain Pluss is convinced of it: if this campaign works, it will cause oil stains and will give ideas to other communities, even to private companies.