Calidifontian skepticism
However, there is a long way to go. The day when the urban fabric of Liège will be grouped under the same metropolitan banner that can compete with Antwerp still seems far away. We will remember in particular that Déborah Géradon (PS), the mayor of Seraing, had rejected the idea as soon as it was broadcast in the media. But other mayors also display their hostility to a dilution of their municipality in a larger whole. This is the case of Daniel Bacquelaine (MR), the mayor of Chaudfontaine.
Speaking in The Meuse this Thursday, the liberal was severe: “Liège is asking us for a blank check without giving us a real place in the management of the future territory. I am also opposed to the very concept of centrality mentioned by Willy Demeyer. The Liège metropolis is not just the ‘big’ City of Liège and small towns all around which have nothing to say“, he confided.
Christine Defraigne (MR): “Liège is the only true metropolis in Wallonia”
Daniel Bacquelaine thus favors another approach, on the scale of the Province of Liège and its 84 municipalities. In particular in order to achieve significant economies of scale in the management of emergency zones (police and firefighters) and in the costs of hospital structures. “That Liège makes the necessary savings and puts in place efficient management in order to restore a climate of confidence“, he also recommends.
