Fighting Insecurity, Poverty, and Unemployment: The City of Montauban’s Efforts to Rehabilitate Disadvantaged Neighborhoods

In the continuity of the new priority geography law known as the “Lamy” law of 2014, the City of Montauban is continuing its campaign to rehabilitate disadvantaged neighborhoods. Conducted by the State and local authorities, it has the common objective of ensuring equality between territories, reducing the development gaps between disadvantaged neighborhoods and thus improving the living conditions of their inhabitants.
Montauban now has two priority districts: the Médiathèque-Chambord (formerly Les Chaumes) and the heart of the city.

This Thursday, the prefect of Tarn-et-Garonne Vincent Roberti, accompanied by Laurence Pagès, deputy mayor in charge of social policy and José Gonzales, departmental councilor, went to one of the priority districts of the city in the objective of continuing its upgrading.

After a meeting which made it possible to measure the evolution of the district in terms of urban planning, the institutional members went to the social center of La Comète to meet the various associations, including in particular the Restos du Coeur where the manager of the center, Jean-Luc Fuentes, testifies to the evolution of needs: “We serve nearly 200 families, registrations have increased by 20% this year, the situation is increasingly tense. We don’t have much left to distribute. Our premises are no longer suitable, we need more suitable premises where the cold chain could be respected”.

Insecurity as a major problem

Social problems are not the only difficulty faced by the Mediatheque district. The insecurity linked to the consumption of alcohol and drugs worries more and more the inhabitants and the local shopkeepers.
“The situation is becoming difficult for my team. There are alcohol and drug problems that make people unmanageable. We are regularly victims of theft and despite video surveillance and several complaints, nothing has been done, because the damage was not sufficient. We work closely with law enforcement who regularly patrol the area. The displacement of the prefect is important. He has to hear our concerns,” testifies Rémy Filippa, manager of the Montplaisir tobacconist.

There are many gatherings of young people around the consumption of narcotics. My role is to find solutions to reduce these inconveniences.

Important work is being done by the Montalbanaise police to make this neighborhood less harmful. “Our role is to listen and observe the nuisances that pollute the daily lives of users and to guide the police director on the actions to be taken. There are many gatherings of young people around the consumption of narcotics. My role is to find solutions to reduce these inconveniences. I try to communicate with these young people by discussing their future prospects, ”explains Gilles Roux, national police security referent for these sectors in difficulty.

Understanding how it happens is essential to best help them in the future.

The prefect Vincent Roberti is well aware of all these difficulties and recalls that “the City of Montauban and the Department are very invested. It’s important to understand how these neighborhoods work. The state funds a number of actions in the so-called city policy districts. We feel that there are problems related to precariousness, with many fragile families, problems of insecurity. We need to be more present and solve these problems quickly. I am here to discuss with associations that benefit from state aid, as well as traders who benefit from tax advantages. Understanding how it happens is essential to best help them in the future. »

Laurence Pagès, deputy mayor, adds: “It is important to locate each neighborhood in difficulty in order to set up action and support programs that can be carried out on the ground by professionals, whether communities or institutions” .
The City of Montauban should soon come to the aid of a new Montalban district.
Paul Gazut