Slowly, Langrune-sur-Mer plunges into the low season. The Place du 6 juin seems quite empty facing the sea. A vast expanse with stabilized coating, a small paradise for bowlers. "I've always known her like that. It's very good for petanque. It's a quiet place and it has to stay that way, "says Christelle, who came to walk her dog. Perhaps the square seemed a little too quiet, to paraphrase a famous line from Asterix Mission Cleopatra. A major project, at about 3 million euros, will begin to transfigure it.
In his office, Mayor Jean-Luc Guingouin unfolds a plan of the project. "We want to give it a dune look. We will level it, adding greenery and creating a memorial garden, in memory of the D-Day soldiers who landed on the beach." In addition, a commercial hall of 600 m2 is planned. "We are playing the future to make the place more attractive, so that people stop in Langrane," continues the edile.
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The village is wedged between Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer and its busy, and Luc-sur-Mer, a town active in the wake of the casino and its shops. Precisely, Luc-sur-Mer comes out of a renovation of its place that makes Jean-Luc Guingouin dream a little, "even if it is not transposable to us". The example of the neighbours also inspires the measure to three friends familiar with Langrane: "In Luc, there are a lot of people and the car parks take up a lot of space. Greening our place is good, but adding businesses makes you skeptical, even if elected officials like it."
"In Luc-sur-Mer, it worked well"
Across the street, Thierry, owner of the bar "La fontaine des anges", notes "that it worked well in Luc". The merchant hopes to generate enthusiasm and more traffic, even if he is already preparing for tough negotiations to keep a terrace on the future development.
But now, the low season empties Langrune, which returns to its 1,700 inhabitants approximately. The three businesses hoped for under the hall will have to find their place and their customers. Also, the municipality specifies that the project is also designed to, simply, modernize the waterfront, along the bike-maritime.
Work is scheduled to begin in November and the first phase will be delivered for the 80th anniversary of D-Day landings next June. Then will come the time of the hall. In the meantime, many will examine the effect of the new square on attendance and activity in the heart of the village.
