Section 4: Operation

The town council meets at least once every quarter. When town councils are generally renewed, the first meeting is held as of right no earlier than the Friday and no later than the Sunday following the ballot in which the full council was elected. Notwithstanding the provisions of Article L. 2121-12, in municipalities of 3,500 inhabitants or more, notice of the meeting is sent to the members of the municipal…

In municipalities with a population of 1,000 or more, the municipal council draws up its own rules of procedure within six months of taking office. The by-laws previously adopted continue to apply until the new by-laws are drawn up. The by-laws may be referred to the administrative court.

The mayor may convene the municipal council whenever he deems it useful. He is obliged to convene it within a maximum of thirty days when a reasoned request is made to him by the State representative in the department or by at least one third of the members of the municipal council in office in communes of 1,000 inhabitants or more and by a majority of the members of the…

The meeting is convened by the mayor. It indicates the items on the agenda. It is recorded in the register of deliberations and posted or published. It is sent electronically or, if the councillors so request, sent in writing to their home address or another address. .

In municipalities with fewer than 3,500 inhabitants, notice of the meeting is sent at least three clear days before the day of the meeting. In urgent cases, the time limit may be shortened by the mayor, but may not be less than one clear day. The mayor reports on this at the start of the meeting to the municipal council, which decides on the urgency and may decide to defer…

In municipalities with a population of 3,500 or more, a summary explanatory note on the matters submitted for deliberation must be sent to the members of the municipal council with the notice of meeting. If the deliberation concerns a public service contract, the draft contract or contract accompanied by all the documents may, at his request, be consulted at the town hall by any municipal councillor under the conditions set…

Every member of the Town Council has the right, within the scope of his or her office, to be informed of the affairs of the municipality that are the subject of deliberation.

The commune ensures the dissemination of information to its elected members by the material means it deems most appropriate. In order to enable the exchange of information on matters falling within its remit, the commune may, under the conditions defined by its deliberative assembly, make available to its elected members, on an individual basis, the necessary computer and telecommunications resources. These provisions are applicable to public establishments for inter-communal cooperation.

The town council is chaired by the mayor or, in his absence, by the person who replaces him. In meetings where the mayor’s administrative account is debated, the town council elects its chairman. In this case, the mayor may, even if he is no longer in office, attend the discussion; but he must withdraw when the vote is taken.

At the beginning of each of its meetings, the Town Council appoints one or more of its members to act as secretary. It may add to this secretary or these secretaries auxiliaries, taken from outside its members, who attend the meetings but do not take part in the deliberations. The minutes of each meeting, drawn up by the secretary or secretaries, are closed at the beginning of the following meeting,…