That morning, a new speed limit sign, displaying 70 kilometers per hour, awaited her in front of the town hall. "I asked the department for permission to lower the speed limit on the [road] that leads to the village, but it's up to me to set it up," said Mélanie Cosnier. On that sunny day, Cosnier, the independent mayor of Souvigné-sur-Sarthe, a village of 620 residents in France's Loire Valley, spoke with the municipal worker in charge of the "sustainable" mowing plan, aimed at encouraging renewed biodiversity. Then, she chatted with parents of students at the local school, which had just completed energy-efficiency renovations: Adding walls made of hempcrete and a wood pellet boiler.

"Five years ago, if someone had told me I would be doing all this, I wouldn't have believed them," said Cosnier, who also serves as a Green regional councilor for the region. Five years ago, she worked as a home care worker and was one of the 150 members of the Citizens' Convention on the Climate (CCC).

You have 91.77% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.