The fire at the Sitis supermarket and adjoining businesses on the night of Monday December 16 to Tuesday December 17 plunged the Saint-Jean district of Châteauroux into stupor. Incomprehension accompanies the now disrupted daily lives of residents, like Fatima, who has lived there since she was little. “Those who did this destroyed a community. When I speak to you now, my heart hurts, I am angry. We all came there, it was convenient for us. Everyone in the neighborhood is outraged. »
The Sitis supermarket, a hotspot in the neighborhood, allowed its residents to have easy access to basic necessities. Mario, a building caretaker, remembers the sandwiches he was going to buy. “I loved his mortadella-mayonnaise. When he served it to me, it was a real show. It suited small budgets. »
“The people in the neighborhood have been upset since yesterday, I saw some crying”
Nguyen Trung works on rehousing residents in Saint-Jean for the social landlord Scalis. He deals in particular with the files of the Castelroussins who occupy the Vienna and Mainz residences, which will soon be destroyed. “It’s going to be complicated for me to rehouse them without Sitis… Since yesterday, I’ve been wondering how I’m going to do it and how the residents near Sitis are going to live. »
On site, the investigation continues.
© (Photo NR, Benjamin Abgrall)
The loss of the supermarket is more serious for him than a simple fire. “The people in the neighborhood have been upset since yesterday, I saw some crying. Sitis was an asset here. The soul of the neighborhood is lost. Saint-Jean is a city within a city. There is a post office, a pharmacy and there was Sitis. People came to live here because there was this supermarket. »
Head to small businesses
To compensate for the loss of the supermarket, residents will have to fall back on local shops. “I will go to small grocery stores, it’s always cheaper than Carrefour”exclaims Ali, a resident of Les Chevaliers. In fact, the closest supermarkets are almost a kilometer from the center of the district. A problem for people dependent on the old supermarket. “What will older people do? If you don’t have a family, what are you going to do? » This Wednesday afternoon, smoke was still escaping from the rubble. Residents fear several years of reconstruction.
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