Le Figaro Marseille
“Since the beginning, we have not been aware of anything
,” summarizes Patrick Robert to Le
Figaro
.
The president of the interest committee of the Estaque Gare district (CIQ) did not hide his disappointment to discover in the press that the “integration village” project for Roma families would ultimately not be carried out on a wasteland located not far from his neighborhood.
“We knew that the situation was going to change soon, rumors were circulating. But it was not official and we were not called to warn us,”
he explains, criticizing the communication from the Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture, and therefore from the State, which has been supervising the project since the beginning.
The latter planned the opening of a
“modular village”
at the end of the year on land bordering a highway in the Saint-Henri district, in the 16th arrondissement of Marseille.
A dozen families from the Roma community were to put their suitcases there
“for a maximum period of two years”
in order to
“develop a reinforced socio-professional integration area for the benefit of around 80 volunteer people enrolling in a trajectory sustainable inclusion in the territory”
, as the Bouches-du-Rhône prefecture explained to Le
Figaro
.
This
“integration village”
will ultimately not open its doors near Saint-Henri, as revealed by
La Provence
last Saturday and confirmed to Le
Figaro
from a source close to the matter.
If many local residents had welcomed the project with great enthusiasm, even creating a collective to
“think hospitality”
in Saint-Henri, others had protested against its opening near their homes, arguing that it would participate in a
“devaluation of the neighborhood”
.
Several of them even expressed their dissatisfaction last Wednesday evening to request new consultations with the prefecture.
The future of the project in limbo
“We are disappointed that the project was withdrawn without consultation with the residents
,” argues Michel Teule, president of the Saint-Henri district interest committee.
“The project could be completely abandoned and there is a good chance that it will fall into oblivion.
What will be the next measures offered to these families to get out of precariousness?
, he continues, evoking the past of these parents and siblings already evacuated from a squat in the 15th arrondissement of Marseille in July 2022 and awaiting a lasting rehousing solution and new
“integration work”
.
This
“integration work”
is also highlighted by the sector mayor, Nadia Boulainseur, who did not respond to our requests.
In a press release sent to the CIQ Saint-Henri and which we were able to consult, the councilor supported the decision of the prefecture to change the location of the project, nevertheless reaffirming his support for the opening of an integration village in the Phocaean city.
“The problem of integrating the Roma community remains
,” she wrote.
“The integration village model has proven its effectiveness in other territories and in accordance with the unanimous vote of the elected officials of the district council of 15/16 for that of Saint-Henri, I still hope that it will be tested in Marseille »
, she added.
We learned everything through the press, even though we had participated in several meetings with elected officials and architects.
There is unease on their side
Patrick Robert, president of the interest committee of the Estaque Gare district
This episode leaves behind a bitter taste for the representatives of the neighborhoods neighboring the project, critical of the State's communication which they consider vague.
“We did not at all like seeing that the building permit was posted without consultation.
We learned everything through the press, even though we had participated in several meetings with elected officials and representatives of the project.
There is unease on their side
,” regrets Patrick Robert.
It remains to be seen what will happen to the wasteland that was to host the integration program, the future of which is currently uncertain.
The building permit for the modular village, now obsolete, should give way to
“a new project”
with vague contours.
“We don’t know anything about it.
It’s a shame, but don’t be surprised that people were rightly or wrongly opposed to it
,” criticizes Patrick Robert.