Longwy Basin. Creation of 40 places for the settlement of travelers: the refusal of elected officials

"Travelers are our daily struggle," proclaims Jean Huard, vice-president of the Greater Longwy urban community, responsible for roadworks, broadband, and traveler management. The elected official is well-versed in the subject. According to him, it's a recurring problem in the area.

During a meeting held at the Meurthe-et-Moselle prefecture on Thursday, July 3, concerning the development of the new departmental plan, the mayor of Cutry discovered a "crazy" proposal concerning the reception of travelers in the Longwy basin.

The design office in charge of this project has proposed the creation of 40 spaces in the Longwy area (63,000 inhabitants), in the form of equipped bare land, for itinerant travelers who wish to settle down. This would represent 300 additional people. The announced budget for this project is between seven and eight million euros. The problem, according to the elected official, is that the City of Nancy is being allocated the same number of spaces to create: "We have 1/10th of the budget of the Greater Nancy Metropolis [260,000 inhabitants] but we have the same number of plots of land to develop. I warned the prefect that this was simply out of the question," asserts Jean Huard, who does not hide his anger at an "inadequate" departmental roadmap. At the community council meeting on July 8, the elected official briefly presented the draft of this initial reflection to the assembly, which seemed "not to really understand the project desired by the State representative." The proposal made does not seem acceptable to them.

At the "official" travelers' site in Mont-Saint-Martin, this new information was well received by the ten or so tenants who live there year-round. Roberto (*) admits that the premises are well-appointed. He has lived there with his two children for many years. However, the creation of additional pitches gives him hope for a larger living space: "All this is good for our community, and, above all, for all those who work in Luxembourg and wish to stay in the Grand Est," he shares.

He points out that his children attend school in the municipality and that he consumes just like any other citizen. He believes it's legitimate for them to be taken care of: "Our difference is that our home is a caravan. That's all," he insists.

The issue should be debated or at least (re)studied by community councilors at the meeting on September 11.

(*) Pseudonym.