The Manche Departmental Council validated, Friday September 27, the creation of a complex which will bring together a fire station and a brigade of six gendarmes at the entrance to Mont-Saint-Michel. Construction, which will cost 1.5 million euros, will begin in 2026.
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The Manche Departmental Council validated, Friday September 27, the creation of a security and first aid station at the entrance to the footbridge which leads to Mont-Saint-Michel. The complex will bring together a fire station and a brigade of six gendarmes and will see the light of day in 2026, detailed Valérie Nouvel, vice-president of the Department at the head of the commission on infrastructure, Friday in council session.
Mont-Saint-Michel, which welcomes 3 million visitors each year, has had a fire rescue center since this summer, already positioned at the entrance to the footbridge. It is therefore its sustainability and its extension which was unanimously validated on Friday, at a cost of one million euros, to which will be added an investment of 550,000 euros to erect a gendarmerie post.
The year 2025 will be devoted to studies for construction and work will begin in 2026.
“Everything that Mont-Saint-Michel symbolizes also makes it a target to protect which today requires providing this site (…) with additional emergency and gendarmerie resources to prevent risks and manage crises.“, justifies Valérie Nouvel. This grouping of firefighters and gendarmes will be “guarantee of efficiency“, assures the elected official, who informs that this approach is part of the desire expressed by Emmanuel Macron to open 200 gendarmerie brigades in rural areas.
“It is a major place, emblematic of the West and of Christianity. I can’t help but think about what a malicious action could be towards this site where there are between 2.5 and 3 million visitors.“, commented the president of the Departmental Council, Jean Morin, on Friday. He also expressed the wish that “the State reviews the number of gendarmes” on the site to go beyond the six brigadiers planned.
“There are a number of inherent risks, including fire risks, so it was important that we have a well-placed outpost“, says Gilles Lelong, departmental advisor. Especially since all the businesses in Mont-Saint-Michel “do not have sufficient maintenance qualities” against fires, notes Jean Morin, referring to the conclusions of the latest safety inspection by the Manche Fire and Rescue Service.
Furthermore, in 2024, several walkers in the bay of Mont-Saint-Michel had to be rescued by a firefighter helicopter, trapped by the tide.
