An elementary school located in the heart of the sensitive area of ​​Chemin bas d'Avignon in Nîmes has been "relocated" by the town hall to a neighboring area after "the use of weapons of war" in this district plagued by drug trafficking. The 150 students are transported by bus to their new premises every morning. 

REPORTAGE

In the Chemin Bas d'Avignon district, in Nîmes, a sensitive district plagued by drug trafficking, the shots sometimes fired with weapons of war resonate regularly. Young elementary school students were forced to leave their school for safety reasons. The 150 children are now transferred every morning by bus to a leisure center surrounded by nature.  

Trespassing in the schoolyard

"There were three intrusions into the school yard, which made us trigger the terrorist attack alert. 9mm caliber cartridges were found in the school parking lot. Our students and we were not safer to work calmly… It brings tears to my eyes, "says Christophe Boissier, director of the establishment.

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A 20-year-old boy was killed by a gun in this neighborhood last week. The next day, residents of Chemin bas d'Avignon alerted the police to the presence of hooded men carrying automatic weapons, who came from outside the neighborhood.

"Our children were not safe"

The educational team and the families stick together, relieved despite everything by this move. "Our children were not safe. It is not normal for us to be afraid in the stomach ... Instead of saying to our children in the morning 'work well', we tell them to take shelter s 'They hear a noise,' says Saïda, mother of two little girls. A new security fence should be installed around the school for the start of the September school year.