Le Figaro Nantes
Cold and sinister colossus for some, serious and majestic setting for others.
The Nantes judicial court is a unique building.
Installed since 2000 facing the Loire, this anthracite black creation, designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel, evokes in turn a modern reinterpretation of an ancient temple, or a prison as chic as it is intimidating.
For professionals who frequent the courthouse, it has been a while since the element of surprise no longer arises from the architectural and aesthetic qualities of the building – which are, moreover, appreciated in various ways.
The astonishment comes from elsewhere, from the rheumatism, gout and eczema which plague a palate that is barely more than twenty years old.
Since mid-January, the court's room has more than once presented visitors, litigants and other legal professionals with the spectacle of a crane, whose serpentine silhouette snaked up to the ceiling.
One after the other, several sections of the room were blocked off with security tape, to secure the relamping operation of the numerous lighting fixtures, which were being replaced by less energy-consuming LED bulbs.
Relamping during the room of the pas perdus of the Nantes court.
SC/Le Figaro
The campaign was interrupted for a while, on January 25, for the solemn hearing at the start of the court year, in the presence of elected officials and the department's law enforcement staff.
Curious or distracted, the audience who did not fail to raise their heads during the event were able to count at their leisure the “old” and defective lighting fixtures in the 5th courtroom.
Read alsoThe uncertain future of the former domain of the Château de Louis de Funès is causing concern
The Nantes courthouse has a few more curiosities of this kind.
At the beginning of January, the cold snap that swept through the city seemed to have transformed the Salle des Pas Perdus into a giant freezer.
“It was prodigiously cold
,” testifies a lawyer from the Nantes bar.
“In twenty years of work, I have never seen this, you would have thought you were outside
,” adds one of his colleagues.
The dimensions of the hall make it slow to heat up, particularly during sudden cold spells.
And when the air is not indoor blizzards, the atmosphere is umbrellas.
Leaks in court
“There are leaks every time there is bad weather, to the point where the Salle des Pas Perdus is full of buckets of water
,” notes Flavien Jadeau, president of the Nantes section of the National Union of Lawyers.
“During the last storm, there was chaos;
We were looking for our bucket guard!”
, bitterly jokes Aurélien Parès, clerk and CFDT representative at the judicial court.
“
Generally speaking, as soon as it rains, there are leaks on all floors;
and we either freeze or die from the heat.
This is still not normal for a court that is 20 years old.”
And which cost 53 million euros.
The facade of the Nantes judicial court, the year of its inauguration, in 2000. © Michel Denance / Bridgeman Images
The list of imperfections is not yet exhausted.
In his book
Justice takes water… or catches fire!
the former magistrate Étienne Madranges continues the indictment on the ills which assail the Nantes court: lilliputian premises, glaring lack of natural light, deliberations room as sinister as it is uncomfortable, double fire doors that are too heavy… “
The majority of palaces of justice have defects, but that of Nantes presents a particularly remarkable range
,” indicates the lawyer to
Figaro
.
The reason, according to him: the use of big names in architecture, a popular model at the turn of the millennium.
It's beautiful, but not functional
Étienne Madranges, lawyer
“The chancellery wanted major signatures, like that of Jean Nouvel in the present case, but in practice the order was entrusted not to the head of the cabinet, but to a subordinate who clearly botched the work,” continues
Étienne Madranges.
“So it’s beautiful, but not functional.
Regional specificities, such as the wind blowing along the Loire, were not taken into account.
Its flat roof takes the float.
We could have anticipated better, taken more trouble and paid closer attention to the specificities of the site;
“it’s the least we can demand from public spending.”
Design flaws
The Ministry of Justice, too, for a time considered that the state of delivery of the Nantes court left something to be desired.
Legal proceedings for poor workmanship were opened in 2010 against Ateliers Jean Nouvel and around ten companies involved in this imperfect work.
The State demanded 8 million euros in compensation.
The case finally ended in July 2017 with an amicable settlement – for an amount that remained confidential.
The reputation of Jean Nouvel – who had blamed the construction defects on the site's subcontractors – remained immaculate, and the architect was thus able to inaugurate his most illustrious construction four months later: the Louvre Abu Dhabi.
Also read: Nantes: a “mass for peace” canceled due to a Muslim call to prayer
Asked by
Le Figaro
about the state of the Nantes court, the Ministry of Justice assures that the recovery of these defects and the resulting disorders was partly financed by the manufacturers' insurers.
As for the work, managed by the regional services of the ministry, it was
“complexified by the need to first carry out insurance assessments and to carry out the work without penalizing judicial activity”
.
Large bay windows punctuate the facade of the courthouse.
Columns add an air as fiercely modern as it is antique.
SC/Le Figaro
Franck Bielitzki, president of the Nantes judicial court, prefers not to dwell on these cases prior to his arrival at the helm of the court, in 2020. He is instead looking towards the future of the ailing building which he inherited.
Work on the new court annexes should begin in the coming weeks, directly at the rear of the courthouse, on its 3,900 m2 land reserve currently occupied by a garden.
“We insisted that this upcoming extension be brighter and warmer, in contrast to the somewhat cold aesthetic of the current court, even if it suits criminal cases well
,” notes Franck Bielitzki.
These additional spaces will accommodate the commercial court, the industrial tribunal and the social center registry, as well as additional courtrooms and offices to free up the historic building which has become cramped.
Delivery is scheduled for 2028.
Until then, the patchwork work continues at the judicial court,
“an unjustly unloved building, both very American and very classic
,” observes Franck Bielitzki while giving a behind-the-scenes tour of the palace, whose false ceilings are in maintenance course.
Several Pompeian red walls are decrepit due to early leprosy;
and the carpets are, in places, dirtier than the Siberian tundra.
Their replacement should occur at the end of the work on the court extension, around 2027-2028.
“The State is sometimes quicker to build than to maintain
,” slips the magistrate from his office.
There, on the fourth floor of the palace, there is a splendid panorama of the Loire and the city center.
The discussion is interrupted when the clicking of a metal tongue resonates.
“Ah, it’s nothing, it’s just the exterior awning which buckles when it’s windy,”
explains the president of the court.