On October 30, a fatal fire ravaged a building in the old town of Annecy. Some temporarily relocated residents are still looking for new accommodation, while traders wait helplessly for the work to begin.
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In the souvenir photo, on the banks of the Thiou, the covered building is now part of the decor. In the old town of Annecy, a few steps from the very touristy Place Saint-François-de-Sales, you now have to deal with the scaffolding in the background.
Fired on October 30, the building is still inaccessible for residents. Mateo, 21, was a tenant there. With the help of the municipality, he found accommodation for a few months. “I realize that I have lost a good part of my life. It was my first apartment, I had only been there three months. I was happy to have found a rare gem in Annecy. Now, I find myself in the same problem I was in before, that is to say having to find an apartment in Annecy“, testifies the young man.
Two months ago, a violent fire destroyed 100 m² of roof and around ten homes. On the ground floor, ten businesses were flooded by water spilled by firefighters, such as the restaurant La guinguette du 1er mets.
“In terms of insurance, we still haven’t received anything, so professionally, I have to take a job again, because as I am a manager, I have no right to anything, deplores Nicolas Mouroux, owner of the establishment. We’re going to have to go to work… We’re waiting to know how we’re going to get our premises back and especially to know when we’re going to be compensated“.
The fire destroyed 100 m² of roof and around ten homes.
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© F3 Alpes
No prospect of reopening either for the Meyer chocolate factory, a historic shop in old Annecy. During this holiday season, activity continues in another store located on the outskirts of the city.
“We make 75% of our turnover in the city center, so obviously it impacts the entire company. We are already around 400,000 euros in loss“, souffle Bruno Meyer.
In this historic district of Annecy, the fire occurred four months after that of a neighboring building. “What interests us is how to ensure that this type of fire does not happen again in the future. And how to preserve the historic center, as the city of Chambéry did, with a global operation in the old town so that we can renovate the apartments“, explains Alexandre Mulatier-Gachet, first deputy mayor of Annecy.
After the buildings were cleared and made safe, the work has still not started. Total reconstruction could take several years.
