Damage, collapsed ceilings: in Lyon, classes closed after the violent storms of the weekend

Le Figaro Lyon

Usually, it must at least snow to hope to miss school because of the weather. But this Monday in Lyon, it was enough of the heavy rains of the weekend for the students of the 7th arrondissement to find the door closed. Three classes at the Crestin school, in La Guillotière, and six at the Berthelier school, in the Gerland district, had to remain closed due to the damage caused by water infiltration. The latter was particularly affected, with the collapse of false ceilings.

What arouse the anger of some parents on social networks where one of them published images showing the extent of the damage. It must be said that the building is degraded and the situation known. Already a year ago, almost to the day, the classes took on water following a storm. The building, on which work has been requested for several years, dates from the 19th century and hosts 17 classes for 350 students. The work is scheduled to take place in the autumn, for an amount of 2.8 million euros. An information meeting for parents on this subject was scheduled for this week. It is likely to be lively.

The mayor of the district EELV, Fanny Dubot, told Le Figaro that the services of the city were mobilized to allow children to resume class on Tuesday. This will indeed be the case, confirmed the central town hall at the end of the afternoon. The municipality has identified a dozen schools affected by bad weather in the town. "For the majority of schools, the material damage is minimal, however, two schools suffered greater damage, especially in classrooms making it impossible to access them on Monday morning," she said.

Water cords in the ENS

Two blocks from the Berthelier school, it is the Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon that has also suffered the consequences of the deluge that fell on the metropolis. "The violent storms that broke out in Lyon this Saturday, June 3, 2023 caused several damages on the ENS de Lyon campus," says the management. The Diderot Library, which is undergoing waterproofing work, suffered major flooding of its lobby and store. "Most of the collections have been protected urgently, a cell is at work to safeguard the affected collections," says the school. But the library will have to be closed.

The Kantor Theatre and common areas of a student residence were also affected by bad weather while some isolated leaks are to be deplored at other sites. The services are hard at work to repair the damage.