Not so long ago in the Metz municipal council, we were already talking about naming. It was almost a year ago. Jean-Marie Rausch, the former mayor of Metz had just died and to pay him a vibrant tribute, François Grosdidier wanted to add his name to that of the Arsenal, since he was its builder.
During the municipal council meeting on Thursday, December 19, 2024, the name was again discussed, and once again, that of Jean-Marie Rausch came up. Alongside another well-known local, Catherine Jacquat. The wife of former senator Denis Jacquat, but she “was not only the wife of…” wishes to emphasize Patrick Thil, deputy for culture, as he presents the deliberation. It then recalls the journey of a woman driven by the teaching of history and geography, solidarity alongside the most deprived (treasurer of Catholic relief) and the love of culture (president of the Lorraine concert, of the center of contemporary art of Delme, his functions at the Frac). A man, a woman who left their mark on the city.
A balance regained
The United opposition welcomed “this balanced deliberation”. Taking the opportunity to alert, however, “on the lack of female denominations in our town, the lack of visibility of the great women who made the history of our city, the history of our country too. We have a historical delay to make up for in this area. » A balance that she would like to find in each deliberation of the same type. Jérémy Roques asked the majority to commit to it.
Some time earlier, he had questioned the choice to restore the name of Jean-Marie Rausch to the place of the Prefecture. “Here we name an existing place which has only a few addresses of course but an important address, that of the prefecture, which receives a lot of public and letters but if there is an inhabitant of this city that you care about little, it’s definitely the prefect,” he shouted in the direction of François Grosdidier. However, Patrick Thil had previously justified this choice: “I find that the prefecture square is perfectly suited to honor a mayor who spent 37 years at the head of the city. It is very emblematic because it is not far from the Town Hall, next to the departmental council which he chaired, also next to the regional council which he chaired and also the prefecture, because he was a servant of the state as senator and minister. »
It was Charlotte Picard who took over from Jérémy Roques for Unis, recalling the admirable woman that was Catherine Jacquat and questioning the place chosen to pay tribute to her. The square located in front of the Notre-Dame church must take its name. “Wasn’t there another place?” Why not choose the Queuleu district, where she was very involved and where her name still resonates? »
Streets named… without existing
And François Grosdidier took the floor again to explain himself. “You seem not to dispute the necessity and the rightness of the community to pay tribute to these two personalities but you say that we could have discussed the location… Excuse me, we thought about it strongly and it is the responsibility of the executive. My criteria were to avoid carrying out a lot of change of name of address for individuals. » His gaze then falls on Jérémy Roques. “When we mark the prefecture of Moselle with the post office box of the prefecture, even if we do not include Jean-Marie Rausch, I doubt that there will be many postal errors. This is a minor inconvenience and has nothing to do with the prefect's opinion. I don't think Raymond Mondon consulted the station manager when he decided to call the Place de la Gare, Place du Général du Gaulle. » Finally, on the question of feminine names, he says that he would have liked to give that of Caroline Aigle but “my predecessor was so far ahead that he already gave names to streets that did not exist. That makes the task particularly complicated. »
