Rouen organizes its first citizens’ convention with 30 inhabitants drawn by lot
Thirty Rouennais have an appointment this Saturday in the municipal council hall of Rouen (Seine-Maritime) for the first session of the citizens’ convention, a new form of participation of the inhabitants in the future projects of the city. Two other meetings in February and March will make it possible to formulate proposals for the municipal council. on the themes of industrial, climatic and health risks.
Inhabitants drawn by lot, surrounded by experts
Thirty inhabitants of Rouen, from the age of 16, young people, working people, retirees, from different neighborhoods, all drawn by lot and volunteers : here is the profile of the participants in this citizens’ convention. Over three sessions until the end of March, they will audition scientists, members of associations, or even business leaders in order to reflect on the health, climatic and industrial risks that will be faced in Rouen in the years to come. future.
At the local level, these risks are indeed there, whether we think of the Lubrizol factory fire, or, on the climate side, the risk of submersion related to sea level rise.”The people of Rouen are also fully aware of the problems linked to heat islands, in the city squares in the heat of the summer.” argues Mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol.
The thirty participants will be surrounded by experts, like Laurence Tubiana, economist and diplomat representing France at COP 21, and godmother of the Rouen operation. She will also be present for the first session this Saturday, January 15.
An upcoming Citizens’ Assembly
At the end of the three weekends, the thirty citizens are invited to formulate proposals on the adaptation of the city to the various risks, proposals that the municipal council undertakes to examine to consider it for consideration. The town hall of Rouen follows the examples of Nantes, Clermont-Ferrand or Grenoble which are already experimenting with this form of participatory democracy.
But with a smaller number of participants on the Rouen side: only thirty inhabitants, and over only three weekends, compared to five weekends of reflection for the 150 participants from Grenoble. “It’s only a beginning“, defends the mayor Nicolas Mayer-Rossignol: thea citizens’ convention must give way to a more sustainable Assembly by the end of the year. It will be responsible for monitoring the implementation of the proposals.