Health, mobility, agriculture, education: the challenges in the 4th district of Gard

Finding solutions to the medical desert

Health is one of the main concerns of the French, and often the first concern of the inhabitants of the Cévennes. Lack of practitioners, distance from hospitals, absence of houses or health centres… The shortage of doctors is significant. This is a real societal problem for a territory that is home to an aging population, for whom access to care is a priority. It is also an issue of attractiveness for populations who are considering settling in the Cévennes.

The next deputy will have to take up this major subject for the Cévennes. For Philippe Ribot, the candidate of the presidential majority, the abolition of the numerus clausus (which limits the number of students in medical studies, Editor’s note) will make it possible to take a leap forward and increase the training of young doctors in the medium term. “But we have to put city medicine and hospitals around the table to change things, work with the Region, and why not further study the issue of wages among doctors.”

Pierre Meurin (RN) also wishes “work with local elected officials to further develop the model of health centers in the territory”in order to “generate attractiveness for health professionals”.

A question to which Arnaud Bord (Nupes) is also sensitive. If elected, the socialist will study “how to legislate in favor of the installation of general practitioners on the territory, but also of dentists, speech therapists, ophthalmologists… Medical students at the end of their course must be encouraged, for one or two years, to settle in a medical desert It can also create vocations to stay there.”

The challenge of combating drought

On the perimeter of the fourth district, which extends from Saint-Chaptes to Pont-Saint-Esprit, via Alès-Est, the lack of water worries farmers. At the time of short circuits, agriculture suffers from the summer heat, insufficiently replenished groundwater and lack of rain. Viticulture, dear to the perimeter of the IGP Cévennes, is a key issue.

On this threatened territory crossed by the Cèze, the water would already be at its level at the beginning of July. “The concern is major among farmersreports Arnaud Bord (Nupes). The MP for the 4th constituency will have to contribute to legislating on water as a common good. How to store it, capture it, preserve it and reinject it? That’s the issue.”

“We must relax certain rules on water consumption to enable farmers to cope withdefends Philippe Ribot (presidential majority). Studies show that farmers lack water to irrigate their land or water their goats. We must act.”

Locally, the actors will have to sit around the table to reflect on new ways of using water which, beyond its agricultural use, is also useful for households on a daily basis, and remains an essential resource for tourism. . And on this subject, the lower the rivers, the more the activity is reduced.

Opening up, a major subject of development

In the district, 87.8% of residents use a car to get to work. The subject of mobility is a real issue in the territory. That of opening up is closely linked to it. And as such, the completion of the dual carriageway between Alès and Nîmes is essential. The next elected representative of the Palais Bourbon will have to accomplish “a huge lobbying effort”assures Philippe Ribot, so that the subject advances with decision-makers. “He will have to be a facilitator”also believes Arnaud Bord.

Clearly, the next deputy for the 4th district will have to be the one who moves the lines and stimulates a new dynamic on the subject. This is about opening up northern Gard for populations, employment and the local economy.

The 2×2 lane between Alès and Nîmes is a real Arlésienne. Construction began in 1998, nearly 25 years ago. Eight kilometers are necessary to complete the connection to the western bypass of Nîmes. But the funding has not been finalized to date. The progress of the preliminary studies and procedures does not allow work to be envisaged for many months.

More broadly, the issue of mobility will have to concern the next elected representative of the territory. On the subject, Valérie Martre (LR-UDI-NC), for whom “the car is not a hobby but a necessity” intends to contribute to putting an end to “the tax of the tax” on fuels, remove the loss of the point on the driving license “for any speeding below 5 km/h”and promote budgets “for the maintenance of roads and pavements”.

Maintain local security and justice

A whim of the National Rally, insecurity is once again a campaign argument during these legislative elections on the fourth constituency. “It’s a real subject in small villages, take Saint-Ambroix, Pont-Saint-Esprit… There is delinquency”observes Aurélie Wagner (Reconquest!). “We must ensure that the municipal police, with the gendarmerie, no longer give in to offendersbelieves Pierre Meurin (RN), who takes Alès and Pont-Saint-Esprit as examples. We must dismantle the zones of social conflict in the suburbs. It is a job that requires firmness and we must promote laws for it.”

On a territory where the question of the future of the court of Alès arises, Valérie Martre (LR-UDI-NC), she intends to support justice, by taking “the defense of local courts”helping to establish “immediate appearance for all flagrant offences” et “the end of the automaticity of sentence adjustments “.

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