by eyeAfter the collapse of n° 19 and 21 rue de la Rousselle, on the night of June 20 to 21, 2021, in the heart of old Bordeaux, there have been years of waiting, and three have already passed. Little consolation for local residents, especially those who are not yet back in their apartments, at numbers 17 and 23, two weak buildings around the hollow and in need of heavy work. But, between protracted legal action and wait-and-see insurance, conditions are only slowly evolving.
eyeAfter the collapse of n° 19 and 21 rue de la Rousselle, on the night of June 20 to 21, 2021, in the heart of old Bordeaux, there have been years of waiting, and three have already passed. Little consolation for local residents, especially those who still haven’t returned to their apartments, at numbers 17 and 23, the two flimsy buildings around the hollow and in need of heavy work. But, between protracted legal action and wait-and-see insurance, conditions are only slowly evolving.
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1 Miraculous result
The buildings in this historic district of Bordeaux collapsed three years later – Michel de Montaigne’s house was at number 25 – amid relative media indifference. The explanation is simple: there are no deaths to mourn in the wreckage, the death toll is just three wounded. A miracle according to emergency services. Number 21 was vacant and under construction, number 19 had nine occupants at the time of the accident. But, beyond the avalanche of debris on the street, the collateral damage is numerous: 130 residents have been evacuated in a security perimeter extended to eleven buildings, especially for fear of a domino effect. Most of them will wait a year – and heavy security work carried out by the City for 2 million euros – before returning.
The ruins of No. 19 and No. 21 of Rue de la Rousselle in July 2021.
Archives Jean-Maurice Everyone
2 Judicial expertise is in progress
With its conclusion hoped for in December 2023, it may not be released until late 2024. The juridical expert Olivier Moynot is tasked with the two sides of the collapse: on the one hand, to determine the causes, and therefore the responsibilities; On the other hand, assess the material loss suffered by all those affected. Vast program and critical work to continue proceedings both civil and criminal. A pre-report communicated in December 2022, and prior to the conflicting debate still ongoing between various parties, pointed to an advanced state of deterioration of the common wall, which would have pulled the two buildings down with it.
June 16, Fall of Rue Planteros
They opened an unlikely ball of building collapse in the city center of Bordeaux, shining a spotlight on the condition of old buildings: five days before La Rousselle, on June 16, 2021, n°24 and 26 of rue Plantrose in Saint-Michel collapsed without any casualties. Between 2005 and 2019 the two buildings passed into the hands of InCité, a mixed economy company in charge of the real estate requalification of old Bordeaux, as at n°21 rue de la Rousselle, and their demolition is planned for the following months. Three years later, a new project, still supported by InCité, is taking shape: eight housing units will be built under real unity leases. The start of work was announced in the autumn, for delivery in late 2025 – early 2026.
3 “It is not possible to plan ahead”
Of course, there is the fate of the inhabitants of the 19, today dispersed and marked like the marine lodges, who, in July 2022, gave a corrective testimony to the “Sud Oost” on the night of Sunday 20 June and return to a difficult normal life. Added to this are owner-occupiers of neighboring buildings, four in number, some of whom add rent for additional accommodation to existing mortgage loans. An example that says a lot: at number 23, whose apartments remain inaccessible, “1.3-1.5 million euros” were spent on the necessary improvement work, suggests Xavier Huchon, whose family rents accommodation 200 meters away. Beyond the reach of co-ownership, which remains pending the progress or outcome of legal proceedings. Both time frames are measured in years. “Ball of a convict,” sums up psychologist Bruno Lerose, who, at 67, is pushing back retirement age to deal with credit and rent accumulation. “We are prisoners of something we have not paid for. It is not possible to project oneself anywhere else. »
4 The Solidarity Fund is standstill
“The sinews of war are money”, continues Rue de la Rousselle, President of the Association of Victims and Victims, Thomas Droff, who, facing the “failure of the insurance system”, is trying to get the state a constitution of unity. funds. In April, during a visit to Bordeaux by the Minister of Housing, a meeting was organized with Guillaume Kasbarian. “Attentive listening” has no future in these troubling times of dissolution. “We are starting from scratch. » Xavier Houchon is disappointed about the “legal void” in which the residents of hollow teeth are plunged: “We cannot imagine for a moment that we have been left out, whether it is the Bordeaux town hall, our insurance companies or the state. »
5 Medium term prospects?
At the beginning of May, the City and the Metropolis organized a meeting for the street victims, which provided some medium or even long-term perspectives for “bare teeth and damaged buildings, numbers 17 to 23”, summarizes Deputy Mayor Stefan Pfeiffer. Charge of accommodation. The possibility of a square fizzled due to the presence of cellars, the “risk of abuse”, fear of drug trafficking and the lack of sunlight. It is a real estate operation of eight new housing units at No. 19 and No. 21 which is therefore privileged, but is “complicated by the current legal proceedings”. Within the framework of the future concession-development contract for the old center assigned to the mixed economy, it could be concluded amicably with the respective owners of the two buildings, or even take the form of a declaration of public utility, with possible expropriation. Company InCité until 2025. Finally, the length of the street, from 15 to 25, will be able to benefit from financial assistance from the National Housing Improvement Agency (ANAH). Numbers 17 and 23 are particularly worrying.
