The Brittany Tower in Nantes. - JS EVRARD / SIPA

  • Inaugurated forty-four years ago, the Tour Bretagne will close its doors on Tuesday for a few years.
  • 20 Minutes has selected important moments in the history of this emblematic place in Nantes.

Inaugurated nearly 44 years ago, the Brittany tower, which has become an emblematic monument of Nantes, will close its doors on Tuesday for at least six years. A page turns. This 32-story building, 144 m high, which offers a breathtaking view of Nantes when you are at the top, has inevitably marked the life of the city since its inauguration in 1976. The highlight of Nantes, which is about to undergo heavy work, has been marked by events over these 44 years. 20 Minutes chose five.

Inauguration of Tour Bretagne in 1976

The Brittany tower was designed by the architect Claude Devorsine at the request of André Morice, mayor of Nantes from 1965 to 1977. It was supposed to represent the power of the city. “André Morice, the local Chaban Delmas, was obsessed with this tower project at the end of his mandate, says Philippe Eudic, former president of CCO-Nantes and of the Nantes Métropole development council (among others). He had even forgotten that it was necessary to build bridges in Nantes! Which had been the subject of much mockery over the mayor's ego. Ten years after the launch of the project and after five years of work, the Tower was inaugurated in 1976.

The Brittany tower, at the bottom, with its unused access ramp. - Frédéric Brenon / 20 Minutes

The creation of the CCO (Western Communication Center) in 1982

In the early 1980s, "it was the place in Nantes where you had to go," says Philippe Eudic. 1982: "the entire ground floor and the floor above" are occupied by the brand new Western Communication Center (CCO). Jean Amyot d'Inville imagines and directs it. "A tool available to everyone," he explains now. An economic showcase, a forum for people to talk to each other and a privileged place for the media. »Artists, politicians, actors etc. succeed one another. "Jacques Chancel, our best spokesperson" or "Giscard who made his first public appearance there after an electoral defeat in 1982" came there, remembers, proudly, Jean Amyot d'Inville.

The creation of Le Nid in 2012

300,000 visits per year, 2.8 million visitors in eight years. “I had my office at the top of the Tower, remembers Philippe Eudic. How many times have you knocked on my door to come around the terrace and admire Nantes from above. I quickly became convinced that this top floor should be made accessible to everyone. Eudic's conviction became a reality in June 2012. For the first edition of Voyage à Nantes, Jean Blaise and his team opened Le Nid, a bar offering a magnificent view of the city. "For the opening on June 14, it was an immediate success," said Eric Warin, president of Le Nid and director of the CCO. There was a queue at the post office and we asked people to stop parking on the tram tracks! "

The Nest offers a superb view of Nantes - S. Salom-Gomis / Sipa

Sports achievements over the years

There is not just one. At the end of 1996, Jean Amyot d'Inville remembers "a hundred pupils from Saint-Cyr who had abseiled the Tower". October 2012, shortly after the opening of the Nest, a base jumper had parachuted from the Nest, before landing on a police car. "He did it without any agreement," notes Philippe Eudic. It did not have to be very thick to pass with his parachute behind the protective grid. The Team Gouzé association and the SDIS 44 (firefighters) created in 2012 the Stair race fire Xtrem Tour Bretagne, the aim of which is to climb the 700 steps of the tower, equipped, and as quickly as possible. Finally, in June 2016, the first vertical run (Tower Run) open to the general public brought together 800 participants.

The poster for the Stair Race Fire Xtrem - SDIS 44

The closure of the Tower on June 30, 2020

Here it is finished (well for at least six years). Tuesday, the Tower will be emptied of its occupants and close for at least six years. "There is both a feeling of weariness because it is time to move on," admits Eric Warin, president of the tower union council. But also impatience to discover what will become of this Tower in the future. A question also: "How long will this intermediate phase last? "It still does something," confesses Jean Amyot d'Inville. This tower symbolizes the city. "

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  • Trip to Nantes
  • Monument
  • Nantes