From 1is March, the St-Pierre-des-Corps library will become free for the entire population of the town, i.e. around 15,000 people. The announcement was made by Mayor Olivier Conte during his greetings on Thursday January 9, triggering satisfied and outraged reactions from the opposition. Satisfied because they have been demanding the return of this free service since its suppression 4 years ago, and outraged because they see it as an electoral gesture one year before the municipal elections.
Clarification: the Corpopétrussienne library remained free for those under 18, job seekers, apprentices or disabled people, which is still a significant part of the public. For others, it was €10 per year, and €20 if you don't live in the city.
And elsewhere in Indre-et-Loire, how is it going? Well, prices do not necessarily depend on political color. In Tours – a city run by the left – it is €12 per year for adults, but as in St-Pierre-des-Corps for children, job seekers, students, RSA beneficiaries or even adults disabled people pay nothing. The same goes for retirement homes.
In Joué-lès-Tours, run by a right-wing team, the media library is 100% free, without conditions. In Chambray, run by a center-left team, it is €9.70 per year for residents of the town, €5 for students but it is free for those under 18 and job seekers. . In Saint-Avertin, count on €15 per year for adults at the Château de Cangé media library, €9.50 at a reduced rate, and it is only free up to 16 years old.
Elsewhere in the metropolis, it's free up to 18 years old in La Riche and €9 for adults. In St-Cyr-sur-Loire, €12 per year for adults, free up to 18 years old, for beneficiaries of minimum social benefits, people with disabilities or job seekers. And it is in Ballan-Miré that we find the highest rate of the large municipalities of the Metropolis with a year at 13€ for adults (7€ reduced rate). It remains free for minors.
Generalized free access is therefore generally an exception in the main municipalities of the department. All the same, we also find it in force in Amboise (without any conditions if you live in the city). And some municipalities practice low prices like in Chinonais (€5 per year for adults). Others clearly exceed the average since in Lochois we climb to €15 per year.
