"But isn't it likely to get worse?" Law student Pauline, 21, expresses in her own way the astonishment that wins pedestrians on Place Stanislas in Nancy. The architectural jewel, built by the Duke of Lorraine from 1751, displays in recent weeks unusual traces of cracks on the ground. Two, in particular. The first of about thirty meters between the statue of Stanislas Leszczynski and Sainte-Catherine Street. The second, more diffuse, a few meters in the direction of the Héré arc.
The file is closely followed by the municipality of Nancy. Because the square designated as the most beautiful in France and the fourth most beautiful in Europe is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The explanation is... global warming. "Like a large part of this part of the city, Nancy was built on former marshy sites," says Bertrand Masson, the assistant to culture.
"The ground is moving under our feet"
Also located on the perimeter of the jewel of Nancy as well as the town hall, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Grand Hotel de la Reine will also undergo work for the same reason: the basement can retract under the effect of heat.
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"Admittedly, the main crack is quite visible, but it is a phenomenon that is neither the first nor the last, continues the elected official. We still have many paving stones from Croatia in our stocks to replace the damaged ones. And the joints will be redone at the same time, in the fall. There is not much that can be done. To renovate the square (redone in 2005 so that it becomes pedestrian), 60 cm of concrete were poured. The ground is moving under our feet. It is also sensitive to the vagaries of weather and heat in particular. »