Briare: the future school group should see the light of day in 2027, a citizen collective is mobilizing against the project

This is a major project for the town hall of Briare, the future school group of the municipality must see the light of day at the start of the 2027 school yearit includes the central elementary school and the Marcel Gaime nursery school, located in the city center, as well as the Gustave Eiffel school, located in the south of the town. This new school group will be located on a plot of 13,800 square meters, in the northern district, with nearly 300 students involved.

At the start of the mandate of Pierre-François Bouguet, mayor of Briare, the project only envisaged the creation of a school restaurant attached to the central kitchen, but the project evolved in the face of problems accumulating in the three establishments : “We made this decision because the buildings of these three establishments are dilapidated, with problems of thermal and energy sobriety, to which we add the problems of traffic and security around the schools” explains Valérie Vicherat, first deputy mayor of Briare, in charge of finances, “with the construction of this group, we are going beyond the problems which are not always resolvable through renovation and, moreover, we are bringing the students closer to the college and then to all sporting and cultural activities.”

It is this evolution of the project which upsets some residentsincluding the collective Des idées pour Briare, which mobilized this Saturday, November 9 in front of the Gustave Eiffel school, then Place de la République, nearly 250 people were gathered. “This school group was not included in the program and was not the subject of consultation” deplores Gabriel Denizot, member of the collective and teacher at the Gustave Eiffel school, “we went from a 2 million euro project to a 12 million euro project which will soon burst all budgets. We are told that renovating or rebuilding an establishment is too expensive, but is it that we thought about it? No, not even. Urban planning must be thought about over the long term.”

This project costs 12 million euros (excluding tax), with three million euros in state subsidies, three million euros in self-financing and a loan of six million euros. “Obviously a school is not a 10-year project, it lives between 50 and 100 years. Avoiding a significant investment under the pretext that it has a cost, to the detriment of future savings, is “is also a lack of vision” indicates Valérie Vicherat, “There will be a loan but, in the long term, there will be reductions in energy bills and operating costs of around 200,000 euros per year. This is significant enough for these investments to prove profitable in the long term. And in the end, we always want to respond to the challenge of working comfort for students and teachers.”

“School is a major local issue for our neighborhoods”

The case of the Gustave Eiffel school crystallizes certain tensions because it is the establishment the furthest from this new projectwith the fear of dealing a blow to the life of the neighborhood. “I have two young children and I don’t have a car, I can’t see myself crossing the whole city with a stroller” says Léa. For her part, Claire fears for the monitoring of the students: “It is an essential proximity for discussions between teachers and parents, the school is one of the last bastions of the civil service on site, the students will be the first affected.” The town hall ensures that school routes will be adapted accordingly, and that this project is part of another, more global project, for the requalification of the Clos des Buchets district. “which was built in the 1960s and doesn’t attract as many people as it used to.” says Valérie Vicherat.

A public meeting was held last month but many expressed a willingness to enter in consultation with the town hallwhich has been missing from the start according to Aude, teacher at the Gustave Eiffel school. “We would have liked all the teachers to be involved in this project. We have things to ask the town hall and they are able to give us lots of ideas. We haven't had this time to put things into perspective. flat, to exchange and to consider good teaching together.”

This school group project should be presented to the municipal council next January.