“The neighborhood is changing, but it’s for the better”: Victor-Hugo, an island of serenity in full transformation

L’îlot Victor-Hugo vu du ciel. Midi Libre – EVA TISSOT

While their block is in the midst of an urban upheaval, the inhabitants of the Victor-Hugo district who live at the pace of the work hope to soon regain their lost tranquility.

A quadrilateral placed on the water. In its northeast corner, the Administrative Detention Center (CRA), a discreet building set with barbed wire where around twenty people are locked up all year round. At its southwest end, the former Consular Palace (current Regional House of the Sea) and its Byzantine-inspired tower which evokes the minaret of a mosque. And in the middle of this imaginary line lies the Théâtre Molière, a French-style theater founded in 1904, today a national stage. Administration, culture, police: despite its slightly off-center position from the city center, the Victor-Hugo block nevertheless hosts some of the city's most important institutions. The fact remains that the latter remains relatively unknown to the Sétois, who often only cross it to go to the station or the theater.

"Petites Champ Élysée"

With its Haussmannian buildings and its large avenue lined with line-trimmed plane trees, the district is sometimes described as "small Champs-Élysées". It is also nicknamed the Glacière, because of the Tramontane which sometimes rushes violently between the walls of this wide avenue. On this summer morning, the wind blows dust from the colossal construction site currently at work all along the roadway. The noise of the excavator, the vibrations of the jackhammers: the wet network repair work is in full swing and disturbs the tranquility of this usually peaceful island.

A few dozen meters from this shambles, a group of bowlers playing a game on the grounds of Place Victor-Hugo do not seem unduly bothered by these brilliant neighbors. "We accept this inconvenience, this work was really necessary." Gérard Vitelli, 85 years old, has lived here since 1962. ball in one hand, and a rag in the other, he watches with a serene air the jets of water dancing on the fountain signed Othoniel. "There was the renovation of the theater in 2013, the construction of the parking lot and this magnificent square in 2023 and the current construction site… It’s true that the neighborhood is changing, but it’s for the better." His only regret: pétanque which, according to him, "was better before, when the club Le Franc Pétanqueur came to train on the square before migrating at the Mas Coulet car park.

Calm and tranquility

A little further on, sitting on a bench, we find René Lacaille. Like many residents of Victor-Hugo, he is from New Zealand and has lived behind the theater for two years. Renowned accordionist and multi-instrumentalist, René toured the world in the company of the greatest musicians before settling down on the singular island. Originally from Réunion, he says he finds a form of island mentality here. "This is all the more true in this neighborhood which is literally surrounded by water. I like to walk along its quays, it's here that I have composed most of my songs since my arrival." René particularly appreciates the calm that reigns there, even in summer: "In high season, there is no need to escape the tourists like in the center- town, it’s quiet all year round".

Tourists don't need it. At the Pont de Pierre, Christophe and Sandy Delavacquerie run one of the only grocery stores in the area, which ensures them a loyal clientele. "If’it wasn’not for the work, it would be the most peaceful corner of the city", say the two merchants who took over the case in February 2023. There was some "mistrust" at the beginning, but Christophe and Sandy are now perfectly identified and their store serves as a "real social center". "People come to us to meet up, chat, we also help the elderly characters when they have little problems: it's part of our daily life and we like it."

When the sun sets on the avenue, the machines freeze and lie like large inanimate insects. On the square, we can finally hear the laughter of children playing between the water jets. For one evening, the neighborhood seems to have rediscovered its true identity in this tranquility. Before the next day marks the return of the machines. 

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