Jean-Paul Fournier, mayor of Nîmes: “We must create a ministry dedicated to the fight against drug traffickers”

Jean-Paul Fournier. FREE NOON – M. ANISSET

In an interview with Midi Libre, he talks about the insecurity in the city's neighborhoods.

You were criticized for your absence from Chemin-Bas d’Avignon in the days following the terrible shootings of February 8 and 20 (the second fatal one). What do you answer ?

Every day, I have a report from my teams who are in the neighborhood. I should have gone there to see Ms. Belloubet (Minister of National Education) but she did not come. She should do it soon. We know each other since she had already come to Nîmes when she was Minister of Justice. Afterwards, what happens in these neighborhoods happens almost everywhere in France…

Yes, but here, we are in Nîmes!

And what more do you think I can do ? It’s the State that is responsible for all this!

But you understand that children have been traumatized, that there are also municipal agents working in the neighborhood and that people need to vent to the mayor that you are…< /p>

I wrote a letter to all the parents concerned and told them that what they were experiencing was unbearable, that they were caught in a very difficult spiral.. . the State must make important decisions, even if it means creating a ministry dedicated to the fight against drug traffickers.

The City is not doing anything: you deploy the municipal police to schools…

Yes, although that is not their role. I have 165 municipal police officers who are systematically on the ground! We also made the decision to close the corridor between the Romain Roland college and the Bruguier school, which is a nest for traffickers. We are also having the Bruguier electric gate redone and eventually we will build a new square for the two schools. That falls within the scope of my role as mayor.

Teachers have asked that the school be relocated. You are not in favor ?

No not at all ! This would be a step backwards in relation to traffickers and that would not be a good thing.

However, you closed the André-Malraux social center. This is not a step backwards ?

When you do not have agents on site (they have exercised a right of withdrawal, Editor's note) you cannot do otherwise. The agents are afraid. There, they retire for a while, but they will return to work.

In Pissevin, you made the decision to tear down the media library. Why ?

We are going to tackle the work of Anru with the Richard-Wagner media library. This will weaken the media library and we have decided to close it permanently. Then to reposition it on the Richard Wagner gallery, on the ground floor facing the three towers. In the meantime we will find solutions to guarantee the service.

However, there had been almost 1M € work in 2020… Initially it was not your decision to raze it. What has changed ?

It’s true, it’s a bit of a waste. But we did not know that the work would have such an impact on the media library building. She was in real danger of falling! And then we have to see this on the scale of 700 million euros; of Anru. The goal is to profoundly change the neighborhood. And it will start this summer. It will take a little patience, but these are enormous projects that will transform the city. I am convinced that we will see things change.

Do you have any news about the Integrated Security Contract ?

Yes, the integrated security contract has been accepted by the Ministry, we will sign it with the prefect of Gard very soon, during April, and we will lay the first stone of the common police station (police station, Editor's note ) for opening in the summer.

Gérald Darmanin will not come to sign it ?

No, he's too busy. He has a lot of things to do.

What would you expect besides the State ?

No more police. And also, justice must do its job, even if I find that the prosecutor does it rather well.

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