A “micro-forest” in Jacques-Cartier, a “rambla” in Blosne, a “lighthouse” in Jacobins… Never mind. The Rennes Monthly is clear: you will never feel in the heart of Brocéliande opposite the metro and Carrefour city; in Barcelona on the Boulevard de Yugoslavia; at the Virgin Island lighthouse in Sainte-Anne.
For twenty years, territorial marketing has developed a sort of newspeak intended to make banal initiatives appear as exceptional projects. A poeticization of public space, in a way, analyzed by the sociologist and urban planner Jean-Pierre Garnier on the Alter1fo website : “The words of power are rarely innocent. Those who accompany current urban developments are no exception to the rule. A metro-techno-politan Newspeak is put at the service of the urban, social and technological order, imposed by the dominant classes. » Just that.
Floating gardens
Floating island. (Le Télégramme/Vincent Michel)
The name evokes flowers and crops perched on water. A sort of Rennes avatar of the Hanging Gardens. Alas, six years after their installation on the Vilaine, the little greenery that remains resembles coypu hotels more than one of the seven wonders of the world, located in Babylon.
Rambla du Blosne
Barcelona’s Rambla, its street performances, its terraces, its tourists… It’s difficult to see any link with the Avenue of Yugoslavia, which is more part of an urban requalification project. On the other hand, the François-Mitterrand mail would respond more to this term.
“Urban reverie” on the Vilaine
This is how Destination Rennes designates the “belvedere” of the Bouroullec brothers installed on the Vilaine in 2020. A very oversold project. Basically, the installation was to have three kiosks. Lonely, the only kiosk built (which cost the price of the trio initially planned) looks more like a derrick lost in the North Sea.
Baud Beaches
The site is undoubtedly a magnificent place to walk and chill during the summer. But the term “beach” is perhaps a little too… enthusiastic. Unless Nathalie Appéré is planning to take a dip in the Vilaine, like Anne Hidalgo in the Seine?
Lighthouse in the city
“An innovative beacon” overlooking the brand new convention center. The symbol of the influence of the Breton capital? Evil tongues will say that it is rather a giant advertising panel – and energy consumer – which escapes the regulation on display.
RER Rennais
A veritable sea serpent since the idea was put forward by the opposition candidate, Bruno Chavannat, in 2014, the Rennes RER was the subject of a study by the Métropole in 2017. Five years later, it is the President of the Republic who made the “commuters” mired every morning in kilometers of traffic jams quiver with joy by announcing a plan to deploy RER trains in 10 metropolises, including Rennes. Alas, the Region decided in July. It will be a “Breton RER” so as not to concentrate resources only on the Breton capital. Concretely, what does that mean? Circulate more TER trains on the five branches of the Rennes “railway star”. Far from the level of service of an Ile-de-France RER, accessible with a simple urban transport ticket, without reservation, at very high frequency throughout the day.
