Richard Schieven: “I am very concerned about the situation in the neighborhoods”

Richard Schieven s'inquiéte pour la feria des Vendanges. MIDI LIBRE – H.R

Richard Schieven, adjoint à la sécurité à la Ville de Nîmes ne cache pas son inquiétude et son désarroi face à la succession d’événements violents qui touchent Nîmes depuis une semaine.

Richard Schieven, in one week, Nîmes has just experienced a new murder at Chemin-Bas, gunshots at Mas de Mingue, the burning of the Pissevin police station that had barely opened and the arrest on the night of Saturday to Sunday of a Nîmes resident, suspected terrorism in the same neighborhood, what is your feeling on this dramatic chain of events ?

I have the impression that this has been happening every year since 2023. We are trying to meet the expectations of our fellow citizens, in particular with the creation of the Pissevin police station and it had barely opened when it was already burned down. On Friday, August 23, experts visited the site to assess the extent of the damage and the dangerousness of the premises. Unfortunately, we are heading towards several months, at least three, of work before we can reinstall the police officers within their walls. As for the arrest of the weekend, I must admit to being very surprised that the alleged perpetrator of the terrorist attack against the synagogue of La Grande-Motte is from Nîmes.

Do you think there is fertile terrorist ground in Pissevin ?

I can't say whether this is an isolated act or whether it is, on the contrary, an attack organized by a network. What is certain is that in the surrounding area, we know of more than a hundred people on the S File who cannot stand being reminded of the rules of the republic. Since I was elected in 2020, I have been very concerned about the developments and the situation in the neighborhoods. I tremble for the Vendanges feria. We invest colossal sums to guarantee the safety of the people of Nîmes and tourists, but I must admit that the context is particularly particular. Moreover, during the week, the Prefect asked us to organize a meeting to discuss the feria, then another at the end of the week to organize ourselves for the return to school in Pissevin in particular.

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