This is an event that doesn't happen every day. On January 1, 2025, a new commune was born in the Nord department, the result of the merger of two villages in Avesnois. In 2023, 11 new municipalities had been created in mainland France.
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Two contiguous communes located on the edge of the Mormal forest, halfway between Bavay and Le Quesnoy in the Nord department. On the one hand, the village of Bermeries, the largest and most populous, has 370 inhabitants. On the other hand, the neighboring town of Amfroipret has 235 inhabitants.
On January 1, 2025, the two merged and became one and the same municipality with a poetic and evocative name: The Orée de Mormal.
The mayors of Amfroipret and Bermeries had expressed their joint desire to merge their two municipalities in the summer of 2023 to join forces and pool resources. Wish formalized by a letter addressed to the prefect.
A public information meeting and several consultations followed, particularly with municipal councils. All approved the merger.
In a decree published on July 29, 2024, the prefect of the North recorded the creation of this new municipality. The main town hall will be located in the former town of Amfroipret, while that located in Bermeries will become an annex town hall.
As of January 1, 2025, there are two delegated mayors who will now handle current affairs until the next municipal elections. set for Tuesday January 7, 2025 at 7 p.m. According to our colleagues at the Observer, only one candidate is officially declared to run for the position. Philippe Eustache having confirmed: “For the moment, I am the only candidate, but you never know…”. For his part, the first magistrate of Bermeries, Jean-Claude Grossemy indicated that he did not wish to present himself.
L'Orée de Mormal, with an area of just over seven square kilometers, will include an existing primary school with around forty students as well as a church recently renovated after two years of work.
It now remains to be seen what the 600 residents of the new town will be called.
