After eight months of work, Place Diderot was inaugurated on Friday December 6. The opportunity for the mayor, Anne Cardinal, to highlight the exemplary work of services and businesses to offer this new face to this place before giving way to the show.
As soon as the last machines had disappeared from Place Diderot, the big day crowds took over the place on Friday December 6, responding to the municipality's invitation to inaugurate this renewed space. If the work is not completely finished, Place Diderot revealed, at the end of the afternoon, this new face desired by the municipality.
The ceremony began with the symbolic laying of a paving stone, engraved on the date of this inauguration, by Régine Pam, prefect of Haute-Marne, Anne Cardinal, mayor of Langres and Dominique Thiebaud, departmental councilor. Then, before even starting her speech, Anne Cardinal wanted to highlight the services, companies and partners who collaborated on this project and took up the challenge.
“Adjustments if I deem it necessary”
In fact, Place Diderot was not repaired but redesigned and Anne Cardinal recalled all the aspects that were taken into consideration in this project. “The fundamentals of this metamorphosis were to make this beating heart of the city more accessible, more attractive, more pleasant and to highlight this nerve center that is Place Diderot. » An inaugural speech which also gave Anne Cardinal the opportunity to underline “the essential role” of the financial partners in this operation: the State, the GIP and the Department. And to continue, facing the Langrois who came in large numbers: “This Place Diderot is now yours. It must be the one in which your history and that of our city is shaped. »
Satisfied with the outcome of this central project of her mandate, Anne Cardinal also specified that she will remain “attentive to the new life of this place” and will not hesitate to make “adjustments if I deem it necessary in the interest of all “. But it is impossible to end without a word to its detractors: “I hope that those who mocked us and who have continued to denigrate the project will have the audacity to recognize its success. »
“It has a cost, it’s all worth it!” »
A success also hailed by Dominique Thibaud, representing the Departmental Council who also highlighted the “little extra” brought by the work on the pediment of the Diderot college. “This cleaning work will continue and a plaque will be installed to explain this emphasis on the word college which has caused so much talk. »
Régine Pam also welcomed the result of this renovation and underlined the “tenacity” of the teams before recalling the place of the State “in a project desired, carried out and carried out by elected officials for their territory”. “The State, alongside other partners, has been pursuing, for several years now, policies to support the city for the maintenance of this considerable heritage which is not limited solely to the financial capacities of a city of 8 000 inhabitants. » And to cite for example, the Rampart Plan, the restored facades of the cathedral, property of the State. “It has a cost, it’s all worth it!” »
And to conclude, Régine Pam made a wish for Langres: “I express the wish that Place Diderot becomes the place of concord where everyone agrees around our heritage. »
After so many good wishes, the public was able to enjoy a timeless moment offered by the Salamandre company. With her fire show, entitled “Variations on the flame”, she brought the first touch of warmth to this new square, making us (almost) forget the pinch of the cold, just like the mulled wine offered by the UCIA.
Patricia Charmelot
