The “Roquefort tomorrow” project launched, a heroic neighbor, green light for the Nîmes bypass… the main news in the region

Visuel de la prochaine maison du roquefort. Agence Rayssac – Agence Rayssac

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Le chantier “Roquefort demain” est enfin lancé

#AVEYRON – Finally. After twelve years of procrastination, the “Roquefort tomorrow” is launched. Since March 7, mechanical excavators have invaded the center of the village to create a parking lot that can accommodate 350 vehicles and recreate the central square which will house a Maison du Roquefort. All connected by two elevators, the shaft of which will be dug into the rock. This 9 million euro project, half of which is financed by the State as part of the Avenir Montagne plan, should make it possible to better accommodate a tourist flow formerly boosted by the Millau viaduct. The village of 300 souls counted up to 400,000 visitors per year, but this attendance has since eroded to fall, in 2023, to 120,000. The mayor, Bernard Sirgue, intends to raise the capital of blue-veined cheese as an exceptional tourist site.

My neighbor, this hero

#MONTPELLIER – Adil Haida is a hero. This March 7 around 6:15 a.m., his daughter wakes him up when she understands that the adjoining building, located in the Aiguerelles district of Montpellier, is on fire. This 48-year-old triathlete then rushes to the building, turns off the gas and runs up the four floors, knocking on all the doors to tell the residents to evacuate. On the 4th floor, he helps a septuagenarian go down, before going back up despite the flames to look for her animals. It is there that he meets an octogenarian and her son whom he will also accompany to the ground floor. With his wife, he will then welcome three shocked families. « It was like a reflex, I had to do my duty as a citizen », he says every time a neighbor comes to congratulate him. Hero and humble.

Green light for the Nîmes bypass

#GARD – Relief for the elected officials of Gard. Last September, former Minister of Transport Clément Beaune spoke of the abandonment of several highway projects because of their environmental impact, without however specifying which ones. In the region, the announcement had invigorated opponents of the future bypasses of Nîmes and Arles. The reshuffle pushed Clément Beaune towards the exit and, since then, nothing had filtered through the entourage of his successor Patrice Vergriete. Until this Friday, March 8, when a decree published in the Official Journal announces the signing of the Declaration of Public Utility (DUP) of the Western Bypass from Nîmes for the entire 12 km route. A major step. « We have never given up, this perseverance is bearing fruit », welcomes the president of Nîmes Métropole, Franck Proust. The elected official now advocates a phasing of the operation, in order to treat as a priority, thanks to the operational and financial commitment of Vinci, the section linking the A9 and the RN113 to the RD40, known as route de Sommières, where 45,000 vehicles pass daily, notably users and employees of the CHU.

Today’s figure: 80

#CÉVENNES – This is the cumulative snow, in centimeters, which could fall above 1,200 meters on part of the Cévennes, by this Saturday evening, less than a week after a first layer of 50 cm which allowed the reopening of the ski resorts of Mont Lozère and Aigoual. Be careful though, the Mediterranean episode, which has been sweeping the region since Friday morning, is accompanied by a violent wind, blowing in gusts at 100 km/h. In the plains, in places, 30 to 100 mm of rain are forecast in 24 hours. A situation that has been expected for a long time in the P-O.

The 1st Reg will celebrate its 25th anniversary on the Seine

#GARD – Great year for the 1st Foreign Engineering Regiment (1st Reg), based in Laudun-l&rsquo ;Slate in the Gard. Its 1,040 soldiers will celebrate a double anniversary: ​​the 25th anniversary of the 1st Reg but also the 40th anniversary of the 6th Reg of which it is the heir. On the ground, it will be deployed in Ivory Coast, Djibouti, New Caledonia and Lebanon, as part of UN missions, with new military capabilities and an increasing workforce. Another highlight, the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, for which the 1st Reg will ensure security on the Seine.