In Ariège, the village of "L'Hospi" plays solidarity in the face of confinement

• L'Hospitalet-près-l'Andorre, in Ariège, found itself isolated during confinement, while access to the Pyrenees principality was closed.
• Mayor Arnaud Diaz explains how his village of 102 inhabitants, at 1,440 meters above sea level, adapts by multiplying solidarity actions.

For thousands of French motorists who go to Pas de la Casa, L'Hospitalet-près-l'Andorre represents the last step towards the final climb to the small principality and its duty-free trade. But in this period of confinement linked to the coronavirus, the traffic was silent, or almost. Only a few heavy goods vehicles still pass through the territory of the highest village of Ariège (1,440 meters above sea level), to take the Puymorens tunnel, towards the Pyrénées-Orientales.

"We are really between us," says Arnaud Diaz, mayor since 2008 of "L'Hospi" and its 102 inhabitants. Nobody comes to see us and I would rather say "so much the better" right now. But that's also why we organize collaborative races. "

This Wednesday, a “descent” is planned at Tarascon-sur-Ariège, 45 minutes away. Last Friday, nine families, including two from the neighboring village of Merens-les-Vals, had placed orders for races this time at Ax-les-Thermes, 20 minutes below.

"We went there with Alex, another Hospital resident, each in his car," explains the 44-year-old elected official, confined with his 16-year-old daughter, a high school student in Pamiers. We had it for three hours, before going back up and depositing the bags in front of the doors. We say hello through the window and organize ourselves for bank transfers. "

The memory of 1982

Even if the winter we are coming out has been mild, "L'Hospi" is used to these periods of isolation. Arnaud Diaz summons the memory of 1982 "with floods upstream and downstream, and refueling by Super Puma helicopter". “Since the start of confinement, we have created even more links. Everyone is called. I have sent SMS to people with whom I do not communicate more than that in general. "

According to the report on Tuesday evening, the Ariège was still relatively unaffected by the Covid-19, with twelve patients and no deaths in hospital. But the mayor of L'Hospitalet thinks of the Andorran neighbors (twelve deaths recorded on Tuesday), the staff of the Chiva de Foix or even his Parisian friends, to whom he sends mountain photos to widen a disaster-stricken horizon. "We are a bit privileged," he observes.

A local activity at a standstill

But not that much: we must also manage the crisis on the spot, and prepare for the aftermath to continue to support a village that has already had to recover over time from the departure of people from customs, the gendarmerie and the agents of the EDF central. If a transport company still works a little, the hotel, the gîte, the bar-restaurant, the breakdown taxi and the bakery are at a standstill.

The small grocery store, so practical for extra shopping, is also closed. Its walls, which belong to the town hall, must very soon welcome new managers, after the departure of the old ones. The transaction is done in a paperless manner with a notary in Varilhes, in the lower Ariège (yes, the Internet is good at L'Hospitalet).

Arnaud Diaz, Mayor of l'Hospitalet guest of the week on https://t.co/qO1FBvhequ TV - a great social innovation project: La Maison des Cimes en Ariège https://t.co/kHzMgSatRG

Most of the villagers who work in Andorra or Ax-les-Thermes wait at home for activity to resume. "We will have to support everyone," says Arnaud Diaz, until now responsible for local development and communication at Ax Animation. But also to welcome, this Wednesday, five new Hospitalois: a woman and her four children.

This family joined the Maison des Cimes, an initiative launched in January after years of work. “We welcome mothers in difficulty, observes the magistrate. In the mountains, solidarity is the number one concept. Without it, we do nothing. Another woman and her six-year-old daughter already live in this establishment of six apartments which can accommodate fifteen people, which also makes it possible to invigorate the local schools: some 25 children divided between L'Hospitalet (up to CP) and Merens-les-Vals (up to CM2).

Photocopies and virtual aperitifs

"During this period of confinement, we make photocopies at the town hall for the students," explains Arnaud Diaz. Then, either we put them in the mailboxes, or the parents pick them up in that of the town hall. "

Always this notion of solidarity exacerbated in these delicate times. For the essential things as for those more accessory. "We are going to organize virtual aperitifs, we have already made a Sunday for the birthday of the town hall secretary", smiles the elected official.

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• Andorra
• Solidarity
• Containment
• Society
• Coronavirus
• Covid 19