Michel Liebgott and Pierre Cuny, respectively president of the agglomeration communities of Val de Fensch and Portes de France Thionville, will not have had time to formalize their announcement, scheduled for this Saturday, December 11 at a press conference. The merger project between the two entities, mentioned Thursday, December 9 in our columns, was widely invited to the municipal council of Florange the same evening.
No ambiguity for Rémy Dick. The mayor supports “with force and conviction” this union which would lead to a large agglomeration of 150,000 inhabitants by 2026. The functioning of inter-municipal unions (Seaff, Sydelon, Smitu), a dispensable stratum according to him, whose operation ” weighs heavily on budgets, when they had to be there to facilitate the functioning of French institutions ”, served as a starting point for his argument. “I dream that we have, once and for all, a competent EPCI (Public Establishment of Inter-municipal Cooperation) and that we accept the end of unions. ” It is said.
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“Pooling will be easy”
The elected representative sees the opportunity to “finally give its real role to the EPCI: to respond to compulsory skills such as transport, household waste, or even sanitation”, with a real logic of territory. “A size of natural basin, which is not political or administrative, he qualifies. But which simply corresponds to the life span of the people ”.
Rémy Dick agrees, “a marriage is never easy. It requires a contract, harmonizations ”. Or even concessions? The elected preferred to concentrate on the common points: the same cross-border logic, an equivalent demographic weight… “I am not afraid of governance. The challenges of the Val de Fensch will be taken into account in the same way if seventeen elected representatives from Thionville sit there, ”he says, welcoming the“ maturity ”which“ finally ”emerges from the two intercommunalities. “Pooling will be easy. “
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Citizen consultation
Philippe Tarillon (Florange Nouvel Horizon) does not share this optimism and prefers to wait for “the basic debate” in community council. The project, still in its embryonic stage, logically raises questions. First of all on the deadlines and the functioning of this super-agglomeration. He calls for a citizen consultation. On the reserve, the former mayor questioned the relevance of a larger structure and, above all, his priorities. “We must ensure proximity. Honestly, I don’t want the resources of Val de Fensch, a region that has suffered a lot, to be used to finance the operation of the leisure port of Basse-Ham! “Fears, again:” I’m afraid that the rope is too tight on Thionville and the right bank so that upon arrival, our territory becomes the turkey of the farce. “Not stubborn”, but to date “not favorable to this development”, he deplored the lack of communication on the subject during the 2020 electoral campaign.
A merger, why not, “we need this strength, but not at any price,” warns Seyyd Mohamed Baka (Bouge ta ville Florange), who nevertheless brings out the red flag. “Be careful not to repeat the mistakes of the past. Today, the main investments in Val de Fensch are in Fameck. It creates inequalities. “And to the address of the mayor:” Be careful in the face of discussions and demand guarantees for the inhabitants of Florange. “
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