Toulouse: the inhabitants of Mirail demonstrate against the demolitions of buildings
Saturday at 3 p.m., the inhabitants of La Reynerie gather at Place Abbal, to say no to the demolitions of the Mirail buildings.
Time passes but the pressure does not fall. Saturday March 12, the assembly of the inhabitants of Reynerie is mobilizing place Abbal against the demolition of the buildings of Mirail. “On January 14, 2022, we asked for an immediate moratorium on the observed destruction of HLM housing in the districts of Bellefontaine, from Reynerie to Mirail, noted this collective. Even if the rehabilitation of this district, within the framework of the urban renewal plan, is already well underway”.
To hammer home their request, this assembly of inhabitants relies on the support of a collective of architects, who have put forward the renovation rather than the demolition of the historical heritage of Georges Candilis, who at the time represented “a real architectural revolution, admired throughout the world”.
Built in the 1970s, these buildings proved their solidity, particularly during the explosion of the AZF factory in 2001.
An even more astonishing situation: “in 2017, the public inquiry had concluded that demolitions had to be stopped and renovations studied. In 2021, the second public inquiry gives reason to the town hall of Toulouse to continue the demolitions unless the Local Urbanism Plan (PLU) is challenged. which is the case. Thus calling into question the demolitions on the Mirail”.
“This urban renewal must both open up the neighborhood and promote social diversity”.
For the moment, some buildings slated for demolition still have tenants: 20 in the Gluck building, the same in the Dadi building and 17 in the Messager building. Tenants often pressured to leave by donors.
The City defends its policy, “we rehabilitate twice as much housing as we destroy”, explains Gaétan Cognard, delegate for city policy. At Mirail, 2,629 housing units were renovated compared to 1,160 demolished. Each time, we try to favor renovation but in some cases, it is not possible. Especially when buildings no longer correspond to urban planning standards”. According to him, this urban renewal must “open up the neighborhood and promote social diversity”. Incomprehensible arguments for the inhabitants.