In Nîmes, the arrival of excavators at the Wagner gallery marks a turning point in the Pissevin district

La galerie Wagner, autrefois centre commercial, va être détruite. Midi Libre – MiKAEL ANISSET

Dans le cadre du Programme de renouvellement urbain engagé à Pissevin, les travaux entrent dans une nouvelle phase ce mardi 18 juin, en s'attaquant à la galerie Wagner.

This was not to be done with fanfare, but at least with a bit of inauguration. Pissevin's “extremely ambitious” urban renewal program, which aims to “profoundly change the urban fabric of this complicated neighborhood”, according to its project leaders, is entering a new phase this Tuesday, June 18, with the start of work that will lead, in particular, to the disappearance of the Wagner gallery.

In the face of problems, no naivety

Faced with all the problems that this neighborhood is experiencing, there is no room for naivety. Nor for denial of reality. The work will have to move forward, whatever the cost. And that is also one of the nerve centers of the “war” which was carried out. “There is a history with this district: we already had security problems last summer, with all the negative aspects that this creates, recognizes the Gard prefecture. And the delay that this can cause is all the more serious because with the domino effect, a month of delay affects the entire construction site.”

Drug trafficking, among other things, which is increasing in Pissevin (but not only) has led all the stakeholders to take relatively unprecedented action: requesting additional funding that will be devoted to securing the premises."The prefect returned, accompanied by local authorities and project managers, before the commitment committee of Anru (National Agency for Renovation urban, Editor's note) last December to talk about security. Traditionally, Anru is not interested in this subject and does not particularly finance security costs, we continue within State services. But the prefect convinced the committee to give him additional financial resources, i.e. 1.2 M€ additional envelope", by the hand of the prefect alone. The objective ? "Organize a security continuum."

Nîmes, a laboratory on a national scale

Thus, even before the first shovel, meetings have multiplied between the different actors of the projects which will lead to transforming Pissevin. Prior contact with candidate companies, site visits, scouting… But also from the selection of the company responsible for carrying out all or part of the work, the creation of a file "so that everyone knows who is doing what and who must be alerted in the event of a problem, supports the prefecture. All this leading to the creation of governance at three levels: the first level, more strategic, in the form of a steering committee where representatives of the prefecture and project managers sit this method.

ttBut also a technical committee, responsible for taking stock of all the subjects that could arise. Finally, the possibility, during construction, of organizing GPOs (operational partnership groups), a body of the national police, allowing, faced with a situation, to ask again the question of the adaptation of the ;means and, possibly, to complete them.

"The 1.2 M€ which is allocated is only intended to finance additional costs", recalls the prefecture. In other words, the companies undertaking the work are not exempt from securing employees and equipment. This type of modus operandi, "is not generalized to the entire territory. We are going to be a sort of laboratory, what we are going to set up as an organization, and its success will perhaps allow us to duplicate this system at the national level, the prefecture aims . Who does not intend to fail in their mission. Thus, the work carried out is carried out in consultation with the companies involved who are aware, in complete transparency, of the context.

Involve the neighborhood in your neighborhood

And for the State, the main financier of this urban renewal program, one of the keys to success also involves the involvement of the inhabitants of Pissevin. "We work in coordination with the neighborhood events calendar. But we also have companies who have applied and are used to this type of project. And we also have integration clauses, which will be used to train young people for different professions. It's important to hire people who live there, who can liaise with the residents, recognizes the prefecture. A double-scale effect: "We show all the actors in the territory, whoever they are that we will be there, reactive and that we will achieve all projects. The first days are going to be hard, we know that." But the excavators do not, for the moment, intend to back down.