As summer unfolds, elected officials across Yvelines take well-deserved breaks before returning to their demanding responsibilities. With municipal elections approaching in March, these representatives seek refreshing escapes to reconnect with family, explore ancestral connections, and find anonymity away from public duties. Let’s discover where these Yvelines leaders journey for their summer retreats and what these destinations reveal about their personal priorities.
Eastern journeys and cultural diplomacy
Eddie Aït, the environmentalist mayor of Carrières-sous-Poissy, recently returned from his eleventh visit to Japan, demonstrating his **profound attachment to the Land of the Rising Sun**. His journeys blend personal pleasure with diplomatic responsibilities, reflecting the strong friendship between France and Japan.
“Each visit allows me to combine business with pleasure,” explains Aït, who experienced both cultural highlights and official engagements during his stay. His itinerary included exploring the Osaka Universal Exhibition, visiting Kyoto’s Imperial Palace, and discovering Yayoi Kusama’s artwork on Naoshima Island, where he resided during part of his journey.
Beyond tourism, Aït’s trip carried diplomatic significance. As a member of the NGO “Mayors for Peace,” he met with Tokyo local authorities to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, demonstrating how vacation destinations often reflect professional commitments for these public servants.
While some mayors gravitate toward Eastern cultural experiences, others prefer Western European destinations that offer different forms of escape. Richard Delepierre, the MoDem mayor of Chesnay-Rocquencourt, chose Ireland for a rare two-week respite—unusually long compared to his typical vacation patterns.
| Mayor | Destination | Vacation Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Eddie Aït | Japan | Cultural exploration and diplomatic engagement |
| Richard Delepierre | Ireland | Seeking anonymity and fresh perspectives |
| François de Mazières | Île de Ré | Family time at ancestral home |
| Joséphine Kollmannsberger | Sardinia/Normandy | Family reunion and creative pursuits |
“In Ireland, I find everything I’m unconsciously seeking—anonymity, simplicity, fresh perspectives,” Delepierre reflects. “Away from roles, expectations, and responsibilities, I become just another tourist. Walking through unfamiliar cities, hearing a foreign language, experiencing things entirely different from my daily routine provides the distance that rejuvenates me.”
Reconnecting with ancestral roots
For many Yvelines officials, summer vacation represents an opportunity to **reconnect with family heritage and ancestral lands**. These journeys transcend simple tourism, becoming pilgrimages that strengthen generational bonds and cultural identity.
Joséphine Kollmannsberger, the Republican mayor of Plaisir, maintains a cherished family tradition each summer. Surrounded by her three sons and two grandchildren, she makes an essential trip to Italy to “rediscover their roots” before continuing to Normandy’s Houlgate for extended seaside walks with her dog.
In Normandy, Kollmannsberger embraces domestic activities with cultural significance. “Like an Italian mama,” she proudly prepared over sixty jars of homemade preserves. These vacations also nurture her creative pursuits: “I really need this parenthesis. I paint and write extensively,” she reveals. Her writing carries personal significance, as she shares passages from her forthcoming book with her children, who discovered previously unknown aspects of their family history.
Similarly, Julien Chambon, Renaissance mayor of Houilles, journeys to Cantal to visit his father, “who settled for retirement in the ancestral lands he discovered.” His vacation priorities include:
- Reconnecting with family heritage
- Recharging depleted energy reserves
- Disconnecting completely from work responsibilities
- Exploring the cultural history of his ancestry
François de Mazières, the DVD mayor of Versailles, leaves the royal city annually for his family home in Saint-Clément-les-Baleines on Île de Ré. This Charente-Maritime retreat represents not merely a vacation spot but a **generational connection to family history** that provides continuity amid the demands of public service.
Finding anonymity and simplicity
Beyond ancestral connections, many Yvelines officials seek destinations that offer anonymity—places where they can temporarily shed their public personas and experience the simplicity of ordinary life. This search for incognito experiences emerges as a common theme across political affiliations.
Cédric Pemba-Marine, the MoDem mayor of Port-Marly, follows a personal ritual after spending time with his children. He reunites with the same group of friends in Var, embracing relaxation and camaraderie. “The goal is to chill completely,” he explains, appreciating one friend’s culinary talents and, most importantly, the freedom to “be nobody—or rather, just Cédric.”
For mayors from the Mantes region, western France holds particular appeal. Raphaël Cognet, DVD mayor of Mantes-la-Jolie, divides his time between Bayonne in the “family cradle” of Pyrénées-Atlantiques before heading to Île de Ré. His priorities remain elegantly simple: “Family, reading, and sleep.”
Michel Lebouc, the DVG mayor of Magnanville, finds solace in Cancale, Ille-et-Vilaine, where he has maintained traditions for years. After an exhausting term, his program reflects core rejuvenation needs: “Rest, reading, fishing, and enjoying my small family.”
Sonia Brau, UDI mayor of Saint-Cyr-l’École, gravitates toward family gatherings at her Capbreton home in Landes, further south along the Atlantic coast. These family-centered coastal retreats provide essential separation from professional demands.
Whether seeking cultural immersion in Japan, ancestral connections across Europe, or simple anonymity in familiar retreats, Yvelines officials demonstrate that **vacation destinations reflect deeply personal values and needs**. As they prepare for upcoming electoral challenges, these brief escapes provide essential perspective and renewal before returning to serve their communities.
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