The workers are sparing by their efforts to open up the inhabitants of the Roya valley, affected by severe bad weather which isolated the residents.

A week after the weather episode, roads, bridges and fords are already starting to be erected.

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One week after the terrible meteorological disaster that hit the south-eastern valleys, the inhabitants are each day more aware of the destruction and the incredible challenge of reconstruction.

This is particularly visible in the Roya valley where the main axis of communication, the only road that ran alongside the river, no longer exists.

Between Breil-sur-Roya and Tende, in the upper valley, there are 20 kilometers of road to rebuild.

The Roya valley is now a valley under construction and will remain so for a long time to come.

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The Alpes-Maritimes department has released 17 million euros for the reconstruction of the area.

Earthmoving machines have already taken over the road leading up to the upper valley.

In less than a week, an eight-kilometer track has already been laid out to allow the passage of emergency vehicles to the foot of Saorge, the first isolated town.

Valentin "posed a week to help"

The road to go up to Tende "is a Gruyère", explains the direction of the roads of the Alpes-Maritimes.

For the moment, the principle is to put in place "temporary roads" and to make "backfilling" to reconstitute a temporary roadway.

"Provisional bridges and fords are also planned", details the direction of the roads.

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Floods in the South-East: scenes of devastation in Breil-sur-Roya

The Roya river, gray and imperturbable, continues to flow in the valley.

Downstream, a bridge spanning it is almost completely destroyed.

Only three pillars remain where rope access technicians are busy.

Among them, Valentin, who came from Avignon, offers the measure of solidarity.

The young man has "put down a week's vacation to help" and is going to "pose another week".

"We are installing a kind of monkey bridge to allow people to leave their homes," he says because in front of him, residents have been stuck in their house since last Friday.

The question of putting the railway back into operation is also central and even essential to revive the Roya valley.

The state of the road being very precarious, it is one of the only means to open up the inhabitants.