In digital form, the process only takes “two or three minutes”, as it simply involves verifying the person's identity. “There is no need to bring your voter card or that of the person you are giving power of attorney to, and the vehicle is equipped like any brigade,” confirms Warrant Officer Sylvain Sancho, commander of the unit that operates in 147 municipalities.
“Four or five per service”
Thus the mobility reception vehicle (VAM, which was eventually preferred to the first name of the troop truck) crossed a large part of the territory, during its three-hour “services”, mainly in the municipal markets, by offering this “closer” possibility of making a proxy.
In total, the mobile brigade has registered about sixty agents. On average, “four or five per service.” “We have much fewer than the regional brigades,” notes Chief Warrant Officer Sancho, “but for many of those who come to see us, they are people who take advantage of this opportunity to present a power of attorney.”
special program
In some municipalities, the brigade came specifically to support the municipalities on this issue. “We were thus able to schedule a service in Limbai, at the request of the municipality.” Sometimes, the gendarmes take over the duties of the city council secretariats, which are overwhelmed with the influx of requests.
With the endless deadlines to send proxies to the town halls (which sometimes review their electoral lists until late Saturday night), the last few days have been quieter. Place du Marcadieu in Arzac, at 11 a.m., only a power of attorney was registered.
A woman and her two children approach the soldiers. “A 10-year-old can sit in the front of the car?” the mother asks, pointing to her son. The answer is yes, with a booster seat if the seat belt is too close to the neck. There is no road safety agent.
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