Clémence Pouget defends a budget that she considers ambitious, while remaining cautious. Photo week
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Having occupied the ranks of the opposition, Clémence Pouget has been installed for more than two years in the presidency of the mayor of Yutz. The beginning of his mandate, his plans for tomorrow, his reservations on the Citézen route and his relationship with Thionville … It opens.
You are the first female mayor of Yutz. Is it a satisfaction and what is your opinion on these two years of mandate?
Clemente Pouget : “To say that it is a satisfaction for me to degrade the status of women. We showed up, people voted for us. Man or woman, I think they mainly chose a project. We are Covid mayors – all those who were elected in 2020 – and we have had our share of surprises between confinements, deconfinements, restrictions. Adaptation was the key word for the first two years, then, after the health crisis ended, war broke out in Ukraine. Here, too, we will have to adapt to everything that will fall on us. We have modernized the town hall, restored cultural events, Les EuphorYques, Yutz Plage, with a summer program, developed educational Wednesdays, etc. We offer more services to the population with less budget – less tax revenue – and more expenses, without increasing taxes. We have also started the revision of the local urban plan, the renovation of the Val Joyeux and the thermal insulation of the school buildings. “
How do we manage Yutz after Patrick Weiten who embodied the municipality for more than fifteen years? Does he still have an eye on the files?
“Of course, Patrick Weiten is an emblematic figure of the territory. He is the president of the provincial council, which is fortunate for our canton and our city. Afterwards, we must not forget the other two mayors who have followed one another: Philippe Slendzak and Bruno Sapin. They have all made their mark on their mandate and I hope to do the same. As president of the Moselle Department, Patrick Weiten grants grants and thus keeps an eye on Yutz’s files. “
The high-level service bus (Citézen project) will in fact pass through the Avenue des Nations, even if she had expressed reservations about it and asked to study another route. Do you understand this choice and have you discussed it with Roger Schreiber, president of Smitu?
“Yes, it was a choice that had been voted on by all Smitu members, including the former mayor of Yutz who was first vice president in 2019. It was therefore made in full conscience. We have reservations, we try to change course, it doesn’t work … Proof that the democratic aspect works. Now it is up to us to work with good intelligence so that there are less inconveniences as possible because there will be some on parking lots, presences … We remain convinced that in the area a bus with a high level of service is needed to get to the Thionville station without losing the train, it’s the least you can do. We also remain convinced that we must multiply the modes of transport in order to be able to leave our car in the garage more and more. For this, this project must be as efficient and effective as possible. “
With an investment budget of 7.7 million euros for 2022, the municipal opposition believes it lacks ambition. What do you answer him?
“It is not ambitious (she resumes doubtfully, ed)… I don’t know, but we are coming out of a Covid crisis and we are entering a new energy crisis. Isn’t it ambitious enough to build new buildings, renovate old ones with energy? When my opposition was in my place, it contented itself with redoing the facades. We are designing a cycle path plan, we are redesigning the Cité neighborhood, we are renovating the schools, we are expanding the playgrounds, we are also creating bubbles of nature and free parking. We are dedicating just over € 16 million to investments in two years, so it is already substantial. Investing heavily means making sure you have the human resources to monitor projects, which is not the case, and this involves loans and an increase in overheads. However, we remained cautious on operational costs as elections loomed and we did not know how local authorities would be eaten in regards to state subsidies. In the end it went well for us because with inflation the cost of personnel increases, about 275,000 euros of additional operating costs for Yutz, and also that of energy. “
Among the key projects is the renovation of the Val Joyeux leisure center. Where we are ?
“Yutz lacked a banquet hall. This is an observation that has come up regularly during the development of our program. Instead of creating a new one, we wanted to renovate the Val Joyeux, a 1930s building, because the ground was already waterproofed. The Val Joyeux is currently being destroyed and the Dynamo architecture studio will design the new one in the form of a cabin with two modular rooms that can be combined if necessary. There will be two kitchens to make the rooms independent. So when the external center occupies one, the other will always be available to host events. A storage room will keep the centre’s equipment, the building will be redone according to law, will offer a view of the evacuation and the parking will be made of cobblestones, on which we will strongly encourage carpooling. The building permit has just been filed. “
And the development of cycle paths. Is going?
“The Iris company presented its results in June and we were committed to doing a first section before the start of the school year. A test phase is underway around the Prévert school group. A specific development to reduce speed was created on rue des Romains because it is a very busy street and we plan to include streets near schools in zone 30. We like to do test stages to get people’s opinion so that we can improve things or go back if necessary, we don’t forbid it. The aim is to connect the existing cycle paths so that at the end of the mandate, from each district it is possible to go to school by bicycle and to strategic places in the city: town hall, amphitheater, Cormontaigne area, Aéroparc, etc. Services are working on programming. “
While the energy crisis is at the center of concern and some mayors announce that they will not pay the bills if there is no more support from the state, what is your position on this issue?
“The state does what it can but also asks a lot from the municipalities. We saw it during the Covid crisis where we had to manage vaccination from start to finish. I find it heavily dependent on local communities. Later, as mayor, we have a duty to lead by example and to respect what is imposed on us. If we don’t, we don’t ask the population to do it. We will pay our bills and we will do like the rest of the French, we will be able to pay them and pay our expenses and our investments. If we can’t, we’ll reduce something. “
Right bank, left bank, Côte des Roses / Bel Air… Thionville multiplies ambitious projects with completely redesigned neighborhoods. Isn’t it complicated to exist next to it?
“We live well near Thionville. Fortunately, the city is there because it brings a dynamic. In fact, they have big projects and one of them will have a direct impact on us (the Coronati, ed). We work with the Portes de France-Thionville agglomeration on collective projects – the Ambroise Paré clinic, the Meilbourg area – and we are in a dynamic where the development of higher education is gaining momentum. For me, existing next to Thionville is an opportunity because we have two mayors who listen to each other. “
The ZAC du Couronné, which connects you to Thionville, also needs to be transformed in the years to come. What do you expect from this project?
“We will have a superb entrance to the city with an urban park on our side, we can only be satisfied with this community project. The result will be beneficial for the Yussois, the Thionvillois but also the entire territory with an enhancement of this historical heritage (the fortifications of the Coronati di Yutz, ed) which today remains almost unknown. “
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