Rejection of the proposal for a public consultation on the location of the new hospital

Is the debate over? Hard to believe. Nevertheless, following the vote approved by a majority at the territorial council meeting on Thursday, March 12, the chances of the Irénée de Bruyn Hospital reconstruction project taking shape anywhere other than the current site in Gustavia are slim, if not nonexistent. Indeed, following a highly heated debate, the territorial councilors rejected the proposal put forward by the eight elected officials of the Action-Équilibre group.
This proposal called for a public consultation to be organized so that the island’s residents could decide on the location for the new healthcare facility. More specifically, they were to choose between the Gustavia site and the Saint-Jean site. Since the positions of the three groups comprising the assembly were already known, there was no doubt about the outcome of the vote. However, the vote was ten “against” (Xavier Lédée, Mélissa Lake, Fabrice Querrard, Marie-Angèle Aubin, Olivier Gréaux, Alexandra Questel, Micheline Jacques, Rudi Laplace, Sylvère Gréaux, and Francius Matignon) and nine “in favor ” (Marie-Hélène Bernier, Bettina Cointre, Dimitri Lédée, Maxime Desouches, David Blanchard, Jonas Brin, Cécile Rubino Tessier, Pascale Minarro Baudoin, and… Diana Bourel of Saint-Barth D’Abord) that the proposal was rejected. Amid disapproving applause from the elected officials of Action-Équilibre.

“Political manipulation”
“Proposing a local referendum is not a democratic weakness,” declared Dimitri Lédée at the start of the debate. President Xavier Lédée replied by noting that the assembly already has “an adopted text” while expressing “doubts about the legality” of the Action-Équilibre group’s request. The mayor also emphasized that mediation regarding ownership of the land on which the hospital and the nursing home are built “is nearing completion.”
While Francius Matignon denounced “political manipulation,” First Vice President Marie-Hélène Bernier, who has overseen health-related issues since the start of the term, noted that the majority of elected officials (including the mayor’s group) had voted in favor of launching a study on the construction of a medical center in Saint-Jean. This study was conducted by Professor Didier Houssin and Dr. Marc Bouche, commissioned by the AP-HP (Assistance publique – Hôpitaux de Paris), in 2024. A 38-page report was submitted to the local government in June of that same year. During a public meeting held in November 2024 on the subject, many residents and professionals on the island were won over by the idea of establishing a new hospital in Saint-Jean. Since then, the governing coalition has collapsed and the president’s priorities have shifted—much to the dismay of those advocating for construction in Saint-Jean. It is now unlikely that the reconstruction plan, meticulously developed by hospital director Eric Djamakorzian and approved by a majority of the territorial council, can be modified with the next territorial elections just one year away.
Furthermore, before voting on the Action-Équilibre group’s proposal during the March 12 session, the elected officials unanimously approved the acquisition of plots of land in Gustavia (for a total of 4.95 million euros) that could be incorporated into the hospital reconstruction project.

A Pending Impound Lot
Another topic that sparked a lengthy debate among elected officials during the March 12 meeting: the operation of the territorial impound lot. Or, rather, its lack of operation. Indeed, inaugurated with great fanfare last December 19 by the president of the Collectivité, the facility has still not been fully put into service. When asked about this “setback” by Alexandra Questel, President Lédée explained that “following the opening, a difficulty was identified regarding management, so several meetings were held to get everything in order.” From there, a discussion about establishing a workflow within the impound lot quickly branched out to cover the free retrieval of impounded vehicles, parking issues, legislation regarding the damage and destruction of vehicles stored at the impound lot, abandoned vehicles, and more. Ultimately, the resolution was adopted… unanimously. As for the issue of the agency needed to collect fines, it should be resolved “in a few weeks,” stated President Lédée, without providing further details.