INTERVIEW
"There are people squatting, people sleeping on the ground, drugging themselves." At the microphone of Europe 1, a resident of a HLM tower of Avion, near Arras, in the Pas-de-Calais, says his powerlessness in the face of delinquency that gangrene his building. The situation is such that the mayor of the municipality has taken a radical decision: that of relocating the 40 tenants of the building, he no longer feels safe.
"I have been here for 33 years"
"For someone normal, it is not possible," adds another inhabitant. For mayor Jean-Marc Tellier, also interviewed by Europe 1, a fire occurred in the night from Thursday to Friday in the stairwell had a "click" effect. "He showed that we had to make that decision, we were lucky to have no injuries, but we had to take action."
Since Monday, the agents of the social landlord are touring the apartments to plan the relocation within a month. The HLM office will cover all moving expenses and try to reassure residents, like Augusta, 94, who lives on the 7th floor. "I've been here for 33 years," she breathes, recognizing that the situation is "heartbreaking".
"The landlord did the maximum"
"These are people who deserve help and care for them (...) We just accelerate a process that was planned," said Jean-Marc Tellier. "This tower was destined to be turned into an administrative tower or shot down, so it was already decided that it would end up no longer having a tenant."
The city council, however, points no institution the finger in the gradual worsening of the situation. "It's been several months since we had cells to watch, we work with the prefecture, the police .... We could debate the means of the police, but they were present, they tried to The lessor also did the maximum. "
While waiting for the move, a security guard, in constant contact with the police, is responsible for monitoring the scene.