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🇫🇷 France /Culture & Society

French Mayor Sets Conditions for Controversial Romani Housing Project

From Le Figaro · () French

Translated from French, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • A newly elected mayor in Orvault, France, is proceeding with a controversial project to house nine Romani families in mobile homes.
  • The mayor, who previously opposed the project due to its location and cost, has set five conditions for its continuation.
  • Conditions include opening the site to other homeless families, closing an existing settlement, maintaining cleanliness, ensuring children attend school, and accompanying residents with an association.

Sébastien Arrouët, the newly elected mayor of Orvault, France, is moving forward with a controversial project to house nine Romani families in mobile homes, despite his previous opposition. The project, located north of Nantes, aims to provide temporary housing for the families as part of an integration initiative.

Look how bucolic it is. It almost feels like a municipal campsite.

— Sébastien ArrouëtThe mayor of Orvault describing the site for the new housing project.

Arrouët, who took office just two months ago, inherited the project from his predecessor. The initiative, which cost 1.2 million euros in investment largely funded by the metropolitan area, plus an estimated 800,000 euros for four years of operation, had faced significant backlash. Local residents had taken legal action to halt construction, and an opposition councilor, now the mayor, had criticized the location and the "exorbitant" price, calling it a "forceful passage" just before the municipal elections.

It's not the right location.

— Sébastien ArrouëtThe mayor expressing his continued opposition to the project's placement.

Despite his reservations about the site and the potential for it to become a permanent fixture due to a lack of social housing, Arrouët has outlined five conditions for the project's continuation. He emphasizes a balance of "firmness and humanity." Firstly, two mobile homes will be allocated to Orvault families in urgent need. Secondly, the opening of this new site is contingent upon the closure of another Romani settlement in the zone de la Pentecôte.

It's a temporary arrangement that risks lasting. There isn't enough social housing. We need to stop lying to ourselves.

— Sébastien ArrouëtThe mayor discussing his concerns about the long-term viability and permanence of the temporary housing.

Furthermore, Arrouët insists the site must be "spotless at all times," urging residents to "take care of it" given its "extraordinary view over the Cens valley." He also mandates that "all children must go to school every day, and not every other day," a detail he plans to monitor closely. Finally, residents will be supported by an association to aid their integration. Arrouët acknowledges the significant investment made, making dismantling the project difficult, but stresses that the temporary nature of the housing is crucial.

Firmness and humanity.

— Sébastien ArrouëtThe mayor outlining his approach to managing the housing project.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Le Figaro in French. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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