It has now been six months since two buildings on rue Pierre-Mauroy, in the city center of Lille, collapsed, causing the death of a man. Six months since the place was sealed off by the Lille prosecutor. Six months that the legal expert works to determine the causes of the tragedy. Six months that a gaping hole is the focal point of this neighborhood. And if the announcement of the imminent reopening of the street is good news, another, much less encouraging, comes to tarnish the picture.
The huge pile of rubble, which six months ago was still two buildings, has been completely evacuated in recent weeks. For two days, workers have been busy dismantling the 4-meter-high palisade which concealed the place of the tragedy from the eyes of the curious. It will be replaced by another, half smaller, on a more restricted perimeter, allowing the pavement in front of the construction site to be freed up. “This part of the sidewalk will be reopened to pedestrians on Thursday, and the roadway will be accessible to vehicles again from Monday, May 23,” says Martine Aubry, mayor of Lille.
Several buildings to be demolished within a year
An announcement that delights the merchants on the sidewalk opposite, who will finally be able to recover their terraces, as well as the patron of the Hôtel de la Paix, who will once again be able to welcome customers. It is only mid-June, at the latest, that a huge tarpaulin depicting an architectural trompe-l’oeil will be installed in place of the palisade, in line with the buildings still standing, freeing up the entire sidewalk . For how long ? Neither Martine Aubry nor anyone knows. No doubt “for years”, slips the chosen one.
But this part of rue Pierre-Mauroy has not finished seeing demolition machinery. According to the town hall, new expertise has established the dangerousness of the buildings located at the bottom of the plot where the two collapsed buildings were erected. “These appraisals have shown that there is a risk of these buildings at the back of the plot collapsing and they will have to be deconstructed”, explains Martine Aubry. An operation which will have to take place “within a year” and which “could” have consequences on the neighboring buildings.