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Around twenty people, seated on plastic chairs, gathered on the Ajoe plateau this Friday evening to discuss their daily lives as residents of Lorient and Camaruche. Opposite them, local councillors Marie-Angèle Aubin and Fabrice Querrard, and neighborhood referents Jessica Galesne and Olivier Giraud, lead the neighborhood meeting. Each resident has in hand a sheet summarizing the responses to the survey carried out at the end of 2023. On this document, we can read the concerns of residents in both neighborhoods, ranked by importance: from most to least worrying. Unsurprisingly, local residents are most annoyed by the lack of parking at Lorient school. Parents often stop right in front of the school to drop off their offspring, with a drop-off system managed by the school.parents often stop right in front of the school to drop off their offspring, with a drop-off system managed by the local police, or park in unauthorized areas, which inevitably creates traffic jams. "There's a lack of land to build a parking lot," says Marie-Angèle Aubin. Residents were already expecting this response. The creation of ten parking spaces alongside the church is put forward as a partial answer to this problem, but the discussion quickly drifts to the subject of a parking lot a hundred meters away, filled with immobilized cars. "People park there and go on vacation," says Jessica Galesne. "We asked around, but there are also cars immobilized by the prosecutor, so we can't move them," adds Fabrice Querrard. "We need to put in a parking meter with 3 free hours, that's the solution", says the neighborhood referent. A proposal not taken up by the elected representatives. "We're trying to find solutions," Fabrice Querrard tries to reassure. "There are also people who park in the cemetery to go to the beach," a local resident complains. "Olala, no respect," murmurs the assembly. "You just have to put up a post with a key, so that people can't park and the local authority's employees can remove it," suggests a resident.
Sterilization for invasive animals
The meeting was also an opportunity to listen to residents' suggestions for resolving the problems they themselves had raised. On the subject of stray cats, a concern shared by many neighborhoods, the residents of Lorient and Camaruche proposed a more intensive sterilization campaign, as well as raising seasonal workers' awareness of the issue. "The ATE gives out cages, so you can try to catch the cats to put them in the cages and take them to the vet," reminds Marie-Angèle Aubin. "I don't have the time to catch cats," points out Olivier Giraud. "After sterilization, they stop eating anolis and birds? "ironizes one man. There's no point in moving them or killing them, because there's another one coming instead," insists a participant. But if they're sterilized and stay, they repel the other cats. "A joint action with veterinarians has been put forward to organize a sterilization campaign by neighborhood, and carry out an effective "quadrillage". Stray dogs on the beach, goats, chickens and even turtles - the list of "surplus" animals is unrolled. "There won't be anything left on the island," says one resident. "For the turtles, we're going to separate the females from the males," says Marie-Angèle Aubin. "You're going to put the males downwind and the females upwind? "a woman laughs. Nothing of the sort. According to the environment commissioner, the males will be placed in a cage.
A non-compliant site?
Noise in the montée de Camaruche, rubbish management, wastewater runoff - as night falls, the list of concerns grows. When it's over, and the residents are enjoying the galettes handed out by Fabrice Querrard, a resident who had hitherto remained in the background steps forward into the semi-circle. "I'd like to know, if there's an incident at the boat park, what happens to us neighbors? "asks the neighbor. The resident denounces a lack of conformity on this site, notably the use of chemicals in the open air by the boat repair company, which would cause his family health problems. "We're not asking for the site to be closed down, but for it to be brought into compliance," insists the resident, who says he is already in contact with lawyers to make the local authority "face up to its responsibilities". Marie-Angèle Aubin nods: "It's a site that needs to be made safe".
