In Alès, the destruction of the Cévennes tower has begun

The destruction of the tower will take place over two to three weeks. Midi Libre – STEPHANE BARBIER

Monday April 22, work under the direction of the Scaic company, led by Demcy (Eiffage), will reduce the 40-meter tower, at 23 rue de Grabieux, to a pile of scrap concrete rubble. A family garden or public space will replace what had become a notorious deal point.

Luigi Vicino, crane driver from Naples (Enco company), 34 years of experience, did not tremble. Despite a violent north wind blowing in a squall, the ;the first stroke of the shovel at the top of this 41 meter tower was of remarkable precision.
A first "nibble"  thus marking the end of a chapter in Alesian history as part of the project of the National Agency for Urban Renewal. That of a building renamed " Tower of the pharmacy, whose last tenant left in December 2021, then of the pharmacy in spring 2023, the destruction of which visually puts an end to a wart and a notorious deal point. Work under the direction of Saskia Van-Prooijen foreseeing approximately "two to three weeks"for the complete leveling of the tower then, "a project lasting approximately seven months" to clear the way .

A space of which the mayor of the city, Alès Roustan, present on the scene, warns " that if consultation has not yet taken place ", the site will become " either a family garden or a public space because, in any case, nothing else can be done there.

Also present on the scene, Thierry Spaggia, director of the public housing office Les lodgings Cévennes whose capacity of 52 housing units has been compensated according to " the obligation to reconstitute the offer specifies Camille Bary, responsible for communications.

A little away from the noise and fury of the elements of the building falling almost forty meters, Moustapha Alijane, 39 years old, resident of the neighborhood comments on the thing, " this destruction is evil for good. And analyzing in a poetic way the speed at which the crane devours the building and therefore the history of this neighborhood that he has known for 20 years. "It’s a bit like in friendship, destruction is always easier than construction…"< /p>