Le Figaro Nantes
In the alleys of the cemeteries of the city of Nantes, it is a subject that "makes the headlines at regular intervals", according to Fayçal Chebourou. This "committed" citizen, close to the opposition parties to the PS mayor Johanna Rolland, regularly warns about what he considers to be a lack of maintenance in these places of memory. "I have nothing against more vegetation, but you have to know how to maintain dignity and decency," he says. The choice to "accept weeds" in cemeteries, as defended by the majority in the municipal magazine of October, is not to his liking.
"That doesn't prevent you from using the rotofil or the hoe," says Fayçal Chebourou, who criticises a "stubbornness" and an "experimental obsession" on the subject. "It's more a question of political whim than a question of means," he adds. In this matter, he assures that he is not the only one to be worried. On social networks or during discussions, he is said to have collected several corroborating testimonies. "I also took a screenshot of a Google review denouncing a repeated lack of maintenance and announcing the filing of a complaint. Strangely enough, this one has been erased," he explains.
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Respect for the deceased
This "subject that is close to his heart" has just entered the local political debate. On Monday, two days before All Saints' Day, the right-wing and centre-right opposition group Mieux Vivre in Nantes issued a statement entitled "Let's respect our dead, let's maintain our cemeteries". In this text, the elected representatives write that they deplore the "surroundings of graves left as wasteland", "uncut grass" and "unpruned vegetation".
St. Anne's Cemetery will be reopened in the summer of 2023. Faycal Chebourou
"Our cemeteries are not a place of political ecology but a place of contemplation in memory of our departed. Our deceased and their families deserve that cemeteries are properly maintained and should not be the subject of public policy experimentation," they said. In the document, Laurence Garnier, the leader of the opposition, asks the municipality to put in place a "regular maintenance [...] to allow everyone to meditate in a decent and peaceful way".
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Hedges, ponds, trees...
For its part, the majority, which understands that its strategy could give rise to a "feeling of neglect" among some, defends a "renaissance of cemeteries" and a "green revolution" in the 15 sites that occupy 52 hectares, i.e. nearly 1% of the city's surface area. "We remove the asphalt to let the grass grow in the alleys, we install hedges and ponds, we plant flowers, new trees to create shade and coolness in these predominantly mineral places that are heat islands in summer," says Elhadi Azzi, municipal councillor for cemeteries, in the municipal magazine Nantes Passion in October.
On X (formerly Twitter), the City of Nantes responded in a long message to a question from Fayçal Chebourou. It refers to a "healthy and responsible management" of cemeteries that makes it possible to "develop biodiversity in the city", particularly for insects and butterflies. "Cemeteries, quiet places, away from the hustle and bustle of the city, are also potential refuges for wildlife. Thus, about fifteen species of birds have been observed at the Miséricorde cemetery," adds the community, which assures that maintenance is carried out on a regular basis by the gardeners.
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Another challenge: security
Beyond the question of maintenance, the opposition group of the right and centre - as well as Fayçal Chebourou - points to security problems in Nantes cemeteries. In August, Le Figaro interviewed a 53-year-old woman from Nantes who was the victim of a curb chain theft in the Saint-Jacques cemetery, located in the south of the city. According to our information, a series of three more or less similar attacks took place there in a short period of time. "We don't know if it's a coincidence or if it's the result of the action of an individual or group of individuals," a police source said at the time, referring to a "complicated" case.
In any case, during this All Saints' Day period, the Nantes municipality has decided to deploy (from October 24 to November 1) a guarding system in several cemeteries, as it indicated on its social networks. Of the 15 cemeteries in Nantes, nine are monitored "continuously" between 8 a.m. and 18 p.m. "For the other cemeteries, a telephone number is available so that the nearest agent can intervene if necessary," it is mentioned in a Facebook post.