Municipaux

Municipaux is the masculine plural form of the French adjective municipal and can also function as a common noun in some contexts. As an adjective, it designates things related to a municipality, a local government unit, or its services. Examples include les services municipaux, les conseils municipaux and les bâtiments municipaux. The feminine forms are municipale (singular) and municipales (plural), used with feminine nouns such as élection municipale or collectivité municipale.

In political and administrative usage, the term is closely associated with local government. Municipal elections, referred to as les élections municipales, are held to choose the municipal council, which in turn elects the mayor. The exact rules and term lengths vary by country, but in many francophone states the municipal level is the lowest tier of elected government, responsible for local planning, housing, roads, sanitation, schools at the primary level, local taxation, and cultural or social services.

The noun usage les municipaux exists in some contexts to denote municipal workers or staff, including municipal police in some regions. This shorthand emphasizes the workforce operating at the local level rather than the elected body itself.

Etymology traces to the Latin municipalis and the Old French development of municipal terms to describe matters pertaining to towns or communes. In usage, municipal and municipaux align with masculine plural nouns; feminine forms are municipale and municipales for feminine nouns. See also: commune, municipal council, mayor, municipal police.