From the deck of his barge, Gilles points to the Venice bridge under which he will have to pass the next month with his boat. A few days before the official start of the “Berges de Reims” redevelopment project, its 27-meter boat will have to reach a new location. He will have to cast off to make way, particularly in view of the destruction of the Pont de Gaulle, this sprawling structure which today spans the canal.
A few hundred meters from the cathedral, this is where Gilles has been staying since 2008, in his strange white house on the canal. “Even if everything was well anticipated, it’s not necessarily a joy to leave. It’s a choice for no one but I see it well,” he emphasizes. In total, around fifteen “floating houses” around the de Gaulle bridge will be forced to leave their home port before May 26.
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A move that is intended to be definitive because the project to metamorphose the banks of the Reims canal provides for the installation of a pontoon beach, aquatic gardens and a belvedere by 2025. The barges and boats will be “relocated” to several hundred meters from their original stronghold. It is not yet time to weigh anchor, but the boatmen and boaters are getting organized.
Camped on the gangway of her 38 meter barge, called Taifun, Annie begins to prepare for this departure. With her husband, this septuagenarian spent her life on her boat transporting sand, wood and coal. And, for her, moving is not trivial. “We have no choice but I'm a little apprehensive about changing location. I was comfortable here, close to the city center. We will also have to move the barge and reinstall the gangway, I can't see myself doing it alone. As I am a widow, it is my son who will undoubtedly come and help me,” she slips.
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In the coming weeks, city services and Voies navigables de France (VNF) will develop the second portion of the banks, located beyond the Venice Bridge. Water, electricity, mailboxes… Everything must be installed before mid-May and the arrival of the new “residents”. Some have chosen to relocate even further away to be quieter.
“I chose to go to Quai du Pré aux Moines to be less close to traffic,” confides Gilles. It's sure that it will change me because here I was close to the shops. But I wanted to make sure I had a place for my car. For the rest, I don't worry, in an hour I'm ready to go. I will just have to lower my mast and my solar panel to cross the bridge. »
The boatmen will normally have four days to carry out “the major maneuvers”, they will have from May 23 to 26 to reach their new location. At the end of this transhumance, they will sign a new Temporary Occupation Agreement (COT) with VNF for a renewable period of five years.