France’s first transgender mayor Marie Cau, who was elected in 2020, has resigned from office citing a “toxic” environment and transphobia.
Cau said “threats, defamation, and harassment are constant” for her in public life. She also complained French courts did not adequately support people facing harassment.
She was mayor of Tilloy-lez-Marchiennes, a commune with a population of about 500 in the north of France.
“Although state services encourage complaints to be filed, they are unfortunately not followed up by the courts,” she said.
On January 13, the Douai Criminal Court ordered Cau to pay compensation to six political opponents against whom she had filed a libel suit.
That ruling prompted her to resign ahead of 2026’s mayoral elections, she said.
The court complaints she filed for defamation and verbal threats only aggravated the problem, she said.
They stirred up her opponents and, since the courts did not act on them, also gave them a sense of impunity, Cau said.
“A toxic and hateful atmosphere, along with constant blockages, is hindering essential projects for our village. Knowing that nothing concrete will be possible in the remaining year, prompts me to shorten my term,” she explained.
Several former members of her party have switched to join the opposition, which removed her majority and plunged the town council into disarray.
At a national level, she said transphobia was rampant within the French government, which she said was incompatible with the values of the Fifth Republic.
“Certain ministerial appointments that are openly transphobic and reactionary go against my convictions and republican values,” she said.
Several current ministers in the French government had opposed the same-sex marriage law in 2016.
Cau also spoke of the precariousness of being a mayor in France, and a drop in pay and state subsidies associated with the office.
“Limited compensation and a heavy 24/7 workload, combined with inadequate social protection, make this commitment very demanding, often to the detriment of personal and financial health,” she said.
“When you’re in a small rural commune, you have to be a bit of a jack-of-all-trades,” she complained.
Cau said she now wanted to devote herself to more constructive personal projects and political activism.
