On January 9, a metal plank came loose from the facade of Printemps and fell to the ground. An accident which caused an impressive noise in downtown Strasbourg, fortunately without causing any injuries. Enough to relaunch the debate on the future of a building which is literally falling into ruin. According to the City, however, the area was secured during the weekend.
“Someone could have been seriously injured. » This is the feeling of Rabia and Ashley, two of the witnesses to the accident present near Printemps on January 9. While the wind was blowing hard in Strasbourg [le Bas-Rhin était alors en vigilance jaune « vents violents », ndlr], a metal plank of approximately 2 meters broke away from the facade of the store, and fell on rue du Noyer.
Fortunately, this fall of a piece of the Printemps facade caused no injuries. It nevertheless left its mark on the two young women, while relaunching debates on the future of the building, unoccupied for 3 years. Although the City assures that the area has been secured since the weekend, it has no information on the future of the building, which is now falling more and more into ruin.
A metal plank falling from Spring, with an impressive noise
On January 9, Rabia first reported the event on social networks, and in particular on the “Étudents de Strasbourg” and “Neudorf” groups. Contacted, the student said: « I was walking from the Homme de Fer stop towards Les Halles, there were very strong gusts of wind. I pass the Printemps building, near the entrance to the Uniqlo store, and I hear a noise that grows extremely loud. »
She then sees a metal plank bounce off the ground, brush against a man in his forties and finally fall on the tram rails, at the edge of the sidewalk.
I must admit that at the speed of the falling metal plank, if anyone had been hit, it could have been fatal.
A story confirmed by Ashley, another witness: « It was very windy and rainy. I was walking towards the Uniqlo store when I heard a noise coming from the sky and saw a huge plaque falling. The wind deviated its trajectory, and it finally almost hit a man and a woman who started screamingr. Fortunately, they shifted in time, and the plate ended its fall on the tram tracks, making a huge noise.. »
A moment of fear for the two young women. Rabia begins: « ANDobviously, when you see a metal board of around 2 meters hitting the ground with a huge noise, it’s scaryt. » Ashley continues: « Luckily, no trams were running and no one was injured, but I had very fewr. »
The area was secured over the weekend, according to the City
When Rabia reported the incident on the “Neudorf” Facebook group, town planning assistant Suzanne Brolly reacted by taking the message into account. Subsequently, the student tried to contact the City: « On transferred me to the legal department, but I was told that nothing could be done given the fact that there were no injuriess, and that it is the “public roads” service which could take care of removing the metal plate that fell from the building. »
It is not normal for a metal plank to fall so easily from a building which is very famous in Strasbourg.
An answer that did not satisfy Rabia: “I think that it was not my role, that it was the City’s role to contact this department, as well as to check the building and the roof, to see if there are perhaps other plaques that could come loose. » The problem being that Printemps is a private building, over which the City has little influence.and therefore cannot act concretely on it.
However, when contacted, the City assures that following the incident, it contacted the owner of Printemps to secure the area, which was done during the weekend. There should therefore normally be no more risks in the near future.
The return of questions about the future of the building
If the area was secured over the weekend, the fall of a piece of the Printemps facade raises questions about the future of the buildingt. Abandoned since its closure 3 years ago, it represents a real gap in the Strasbourg city center, leaving the signs on Rue de la Mésange and Rue de la Haute-Montée alone.
However, it seems that there is still no real news regarding a possible resumption of Spring. Contacted on this subject, the City responded that « it is a private investor who owns the building; thus, we cannot move forward on their agendas ». The suspense remains, but we hope at least that the investor takes care of the state of his building.
