“We didn’t want any more waterways, any more ditches, we wanted to gain height. There, we took 30 to 40 meters…”immediately states Vincent Maquignon, 52 years old, disaster victim from Blendecques (Pas-de-Calais), showing his new house, still under construction, located on the heights of Arques.
Too expensive, the secure area
With his wife and their two boys, this Voies navigables de France (VNF) employee moved just before Christmas a few kilometers from their former home, which was flooded three times last winter, on November 1 and 11, 2023 and January 2. 2024.
“We would have liked to stay in Blendecques where we moved in 2000, but we couldn’t find anything in our budget in a secure area », says the fifty-year-old, compensated by the Barnier fund, in addition to the insurance. Bélinda, his wife, is originally from Blendecques and he is deputy mayor there, even if he has distanced himself, “disgusted” by the reproaches, rumors or false accusations of certain residents at the time of the floods. “My priority is my family, we need to rebuild ourselves and find a home»confides the chosen one.
The Maquignons were attached to their house, which they had finished paying off and in which their two sons, aged 16 and 21, grew up. It is now in Arques that they are turning the painful page of the floods. “As soon as there is heavy rain, we fear for the Blendecquois and for our house”testifies Vincent Maquignon. The couple did not consider for a second leaving Audomarois, “we have both jobs and our youngest son is still in high school.”
In Arques, Vincent Maquignon is on familiar ground. He lived there until his marriage, his parents were bakers in this town of 10,000 inhabitants. “And we are a stone’s throw from the Clairmarais forest », positive this sportsman who regularly spins on his bike to “relieve stress”. However, it is difficult to forget the old house. “We can’t help but pass there almost every day. »
The housing estate will be razed
Will Vincent Maquignon witness its demolition in a few months? He hesitates. The housing estate will be razed and transformed into a water retention basin to prevent further flooding of the city center. “Will this be enough?”»asks the VNF employee. Of the ten owners of the houses in dead end A of rue Roger-Salengro, four came to settle in Arques.
The former disaster victim was able to count on the solidarity of friends and colleagues, for example to help him transport the firewood stored in Blendecques. After more than a year in a gîte, the Maquignons moved in just before Christmas.
However, it is not yet time to celebrate, the couple is experiencing ups and downs. “The boys don’t talk much. » But everyone is happy to inaugurate their new equipped kitchen at the end of the year, “almost the same as that of Blendecques”. And they look forward to welcoming their friends again for a housewarming party, probably in spring, when they will be able to enjoy the large garden, dotted with fruit trees to which have been added apple trees planted from the old land.
“We at least tried to save a little nature. » Vincent Maquignon would like to set up a vegetable garden there. Confident that the good times are not so far away, and wishing for 2025 “a year without floods, without cyclones, and with more kindness”.
