“I immediately felt good there, there is everything here. For shopping, walking in the middle of nature, schools, sport… It’s like having a big city but with a country air”, rejoices Lisa speaking of her “new” adopted city, Illkirch-Graffenstaden. in the Lower Rhine. Mother of two children, she “moved from Strasbourg”, a neighboring town, because “everyday life” had “become too difficult in the family”. Also, the young woman is not surprised to learn that “her” commune has just won first place in the newspaper’s ranking The Parisian, that of the most welcoming municipalities for families with young children. A ranking that lists the 444 French cities with at least 20,000 inhabitants and based on criteria such as health, safety, environment and education…
“A city in the countryside”
A little more surprised all the same is its mayor, Thibaud Philipps (LR). “Especially to be at the top of the ranking at the national level”, entrusts the elected official to 20 minutes. A city councilor who “had not heard of the investigation carried out”, before being joined recently by a journalist “for the realization of the file”. Even if he welcomes this ranking, he is not really surprised. The difference with other municipalities? “People often recognize that it’s a bit like the ‘city in the country’ spirit, that is to say, having a living environment with lots of natural spaces for a city in the first ring, says the mayor. All this while being in the immediate vicinity of the city center which is Strasbourg and where you can benefit from everything that happens there”.
A “paradise for families”, explains the municipality, with green spaces, but also numerous sports facilities: “We have everything you need for the different sports, details the mayor. Rugby, football, basketball, martial arts, but also a popular skatepark for young people in the city and even beyond”. Different facilities spread throughout its territory, “used extensively by the many associations in the city”, but also a major project in the pipeline: a Sports Hall, an investment of 15 million euros…
recipes for happiness
Another point which contributed to consolidating this status as a city where life is good, the “revegetation of many public spaces, important places in the city and schools in particular, which will all be concerned by the end of the mandate”, says the mayor. An elected official who does not fail to recall that Illkirch-Graffenstaden had received the prize for the ecological reconquest of the urban setting in 2021, with “a fourth flower”, awarded by the (national) jury of the Flowered Cities. A city that is therefore green, but also where you can move around, park: “We try to have a good balance between the different forms of mobility, not to oppose them, recalls the elected official. To have room for everyone while having a proactive policy in order to continue the development of cycling and walking, and there is of course a good network of public transport, with a direct tram to Strasbourg. But there is also a place for the car, we try to make life easier for people and families. “Families of which he” also tries to spare the purchasing power “: the price of school catering has thus been maintained despite inflation.
Integration into the city from an early age with an educational project set up in early childhood structures, including the development of bilingualism in German or Alsatian, is also highlighted by the town hall.
Finally, says the city councilor, there is “this feeling of a pleasant city and that of feeling safe when you walk in public space and practice different activities in peace”. “We have just equipped all our schools with CCTV cameras,” he adds.
Not to mention bodies of water, green spaces, natural spaces such as the banks of the Ill, or a small animal park (the Friedel park) where you can find farm animals roaming free… Enough to spend a peaceful life. A set of reasons which decided Luc, married and father of two young children, to choose Illkirch to settle his small family. Even if he works in Strasbourg, it was also an opportunity to start life with the purchase of a house. “It was much easier to find a house at a reasonable price, with all the services nearby. We do not have the feeling of living in the city, rejoices the young owner. We have a park not even 300 meters away. Everything is accessible by bike and it’s not a dormitory suburb: there’s a market, culture spots, you can do all the sports… It’s not a row of pavilions like it can be in other other municipalities. There is life. 500 meters away, we have kindergarten, primary, middle school, high school, and even some college sites. The only downside to the table is the price: “All the same, we are exaggerating when we say that the price of real estate is not expensive. We are still around 4,000 euros per m2”, notes Luc. Perhaps the right price to live in the city of “family paradise”.