Read moreOceanProd / Getty Images/iStockphoto City Hall building mairie in french means cityhall Estelle Szabo, mayor of the Nord, is the first to make her gender transition in full mandate LGBTQI+ – The mayor of Estevelles (Pas-de-Calais), elected as a man and engaged in a gender transition process, obtained on Wednesday April 12 the “support” of her municipal council, which she had requested to continue her mandate as a woman, she announced to AFP. At 63, the mayor (without party affiliation) of this town of 2000 inhabitants thus becomes, she says, the "first" transgender mayor to formalize this transition during her term of office. The municipal council, which met on Wednesday, "renewed its confidence in me," the elected official rejoiced, even though this vote by the council was not required by law. Out of 18 voters, "14 voted for and four abstained." You cannot view this content because: You have refused cookies associated with third-party content by subscribing. You will therefore not be able to play our videos which need third-party cookies to function. You are using an ad blocker. We recommend that you disable it in order to access our videos. If you are not in either of these two cases, contact us at aide@huffingtonpost.fr. “It’s a continuation of my life journey, of my political journey. On Thursday morning, I will present things to the employees of the municipality and I will communicate with the population, and from Friday, I will have my appearance as I wish and I will exercise as the mayor of Estevelles", she reacted after the vote. "For a time, resignation was the only option for me," particularly to "speed things up" or "protect" my private life, the mayor explained to AFP. But "I am a fighter," and "proud of the investment I was able to make in this small community, I did not want to abandon it. "I realized that the best solution was to communicate," she added. The procedure for changing her civil status that she began a few weeks ago is still ongoing. “Keeping myself on this path of life, carrying this difference, can bring me, my family and the community, a stability that can be useful to complete this mandate. Perhaps by being in the spotlight, I can also convey a certain message about what transgender identity is. "I already play a role in the associations today," she told La Voix du Nord. After contacting the prefecture, the State told her "that there was no problem", that it was "legally possible" to continue working as a woman, she assured. "I then chose to seek the trust of my peers", in particular to establish "my legitimacy". “For more than 22 years, I have been serving my community (…). "To be transparent, I feel the need today to express a difference that I carry on a personal level," she wrote in a press release signed by Estelle Szabo. “This difference shared by hundreds of thousands of people in France, (…) is that of transidentity and the psychological suffering of not being in the “right” gender,” she continues. "It took me many years to understand and accept who I really was," thanks in particular to psychotherapeutic follow-up, and with the support of "my loved ones and my wife." "I only want to convey one message," Estelle Szabo told AFP: "that you can be a person with a difference, not necessarily always accepted today, and exercise a political function." Also see on Le HuffPost: You cannot view this content because: You have refused cookies associated with third-party content by subscribing. You will therefore not be able to play our videos which need third-party cookies to function. You are using an ad blocker. We recommend that you disable it in order to access our videos. If you are not in either of these two cases, contact us at aide@huffingtonpost.fr.
LGBTQI+ – The mayor of Estevelles (Pas-de-Calais), elected as a man and committed to a path of gender transition, obtained on Wednesday April 12 the " support " from her municipal council, which she had requested to continue her mandate as a woman, she announced to AFP.
At 63, the (non-party) councilor of this town of 2000 inhabitants thus becomes, she says, the "first" transgender mayor to formalize this transition during his term. Meeting on Wednesday, the municipal council "renewed his confidence in me", the elected official rejoices, even if this vote of the council was not required by law. Out of 18 voters, "14 voted for and four abstained".
You have refused cookies associated with third-party content by subscribing. You will therefore not be able to play our videos which require third-party cookies to function. You are using an ad blocker. We advise you to disable it in order to access our videos. If you are not in either of these two cases, contact us at help@huffingtonpost.fr.
"It is a continuation of my life path, of my political path. On Thursday morning, I will present things to the employees of the municipality and I will communicate with the population, and from Friday, I will have my appearance as I wish and I will exercise as the mayor of Estevelles", she reacted after the vote.
"For a while, I was forced to resign.", especially for "speed things up", or « protect » my private life, the mayor explained to AFP. But "I am a fighting person", and "Proud of the investment I was able to have in this small town, I did not want to abandon it. I realized that the best solution was to communicate"she added.
The civil status change procedure that she began a few weeks ago is still ongoing. "The fact of maintaining this life path while carrying this difference can bring me, my family and the community, a stability that can be useful to complete this mandate. By perhaps being in the spotlight, I can also convey a certain message about what transidentity is. I already play a role in associations today," she said in particular to The voice of the North.
After contacting the prefecture, the State informed him "that there was no problem", that he was "legally possible" to continue practicing as a woman, she assured. "I then chose to seek the trust of my peers", especially for seating "my legitimacy".
"For over 22 years, I have been serving my community (…). For the sake of transparency, I now feel the need to express a difference that I carry on a personal level.", she wrote in a press release signed Estelle Szabo.
"This difference shared by hundreds of thousands of people in France, (...) is that of transidentity and the psychological suffering of not being in the "right" gender"she continues. “It took me many years to understand and accept who I really was.”, thanks in particular to psychotherapeutic monitoring, and with the support of "my relatives and my wife".
"I only want to convey one message," Estelle Szabo told AFP: "that you can be a person with a difference, not necessarily always accepted today, and exercise a political function.".
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