It was his first. This Thursday evening, the mayor of Rennes gave her first vows ceremony since her re-election in 2020 and especially since her accession to the post of president of the metropolis the same year. Deprived of exercise by two years of health crisis, Nathalie Appéré chose an exchange format for this reunion. For about thirty minutes, the elected socialist addressed one by one the hot issues of the coming year in a resolutely positive tone. Talkative and rather comfortable in this long-prepared exercise, Nathalie Appéré talked about transport, housing, energy costs and urban renewal. “She made her best hits”, as a colleague pointed out after the exercise. Selected pieces.
Police but drug trafficking continues
She had already launched it during her vows to the combatant, military, defense and security worlds a few hours earlier. When discussing the issue of security, Nathalie Appéré remained lucid about the situation in Rennes. “Narcotics trafficking is not declining and I understand the exasperation of the inhabitants in relation to this trafficking. We must continue to not let go, ”she warned, recalling the efforts in recruiting police officers, extending hours and installing video surveillance cameras. “There have never been so many police officers in Rennes”, assured the elected official.
In recent weeks, police officers have been taken to task twice during interventions by the anti-crime brigade. Officials regularly denounce an increase in violence in the Breton capital, so far rather spared.
The success of line B
If there was only one moment to remember, she would have chosen this one. Tuesday, September 20, at 5:10 a.m., Nathalie Appéré officially inaugurated the second metro line. Delayed many times, the commissioning of line B is a success according to the mayor, who mentioned an attendance of 85,000 trips per day. She would have even boosted the traffic of her big sister, who has posted more than 144,000 daily trips since the arrival of little B. “This is not the end of the story”, warned Nathalie Appéré. “With line B, we have redeployed our bus network to have more buses, later and less polluting. With the line, we have spaces that have been freed up to make it a more peaceful city centre, ”insisted the mayor, before recalling the commissioning of the limited traffic zone in February.
The housing situation deemed “alarming”
Often cited as an example for its policy in favor of housing for all, the Rennes metropolitan area is not immune to housing pressure. The Breton capital is even one of the cities where the price of rents and per square meter has increased the most in recent years, in particular due to strong demand. “The situation is quite alarming on the rise in prices and the difficulty of access to housing. Construction is an issue of diversity in our territory. The city must rebuild itself, ”assured the mayor. In her rather consensual remarks, the mayor however tackled “the noisy way” of certain collectives to oppose housing projects while 25,000 people are waiting for social housing. A reference to the collectives of inhabitants who have united in different sectors of the city to denounce the densification of their neighborhood.