François de Canson: 'Les Bormettes, a site geared towards innovation'
On June 23, during a public meeting on the reindustrialisation of the Les Bormettes site with the arrival of Naval Group, François...
On this occasion, the mayor insisted on a dynamic of innovation respectful of history and the local area: 'It is a showcase of excellence on a human scale. 550 direct jobs. 60% green spaces. Low-key buildings. A gentle integration into the site. A site geared towards innovation, but rooted in our history.'
Alongside the mayor, numerous speakers: elected officials, representatives of the State, experts, and project partners, were present to answer the public's questions and shed light on technical, environmental, and economic issues. INDUSTRIAL HISTORY In his opening remarks, the mayor recalled the importance of this territory: 'Places that are not just landscapes, but roots. Places where human memory marries geography.
Places where every stone, every path, every building tells a story larger than itself. La Londe is one of those places. It is not just the town that I have managed for nearly twenty years.
It is the town of my childhood, the town of my life, the town of my children. This territory is mine. I love it, I protect it, I develop it.
And in twenty years, La Londe has never shone so brightly.'
Then, he traced the industrial history of Les Bormettes while highlighting the balance between agriculture, industry, and tourism that forged the local identity: 'It all began in 1881. Victor Roux discovered a lead and zinc vein in l'Argentière. In 1885, the Société des Mines des Bormettes was created.
The mines prospered. A railway line was laid. A foundry was established.
The Schneider company took over the torch. An armaments factory was set up. A design office was established.
They manufactured parts for the Marine nationale. And around it, an exemplary French Riviera working-class estate was built. 103 small houses, 11 villas, a school, a community hall, a cooperative, public showers, a bar, a gym.
A neighborhood designed for life. For dignity. For families.
Les Bormettes was not just a neighborhood. It was a promise. A way of producing, living, and passing things on.
How many families saw their destiny written in the shadow of the machines? How many stories began in these narrow streets? How many lives crossed paths between the factory siren and the schoolyard?
It was a world apart, but fully Londais.
A world made of solidarity, hard work, and pride. And this world, we have not forgotten.'
REFUSAL OF REAL ESTATE SPECULATION The mayor also recalled the long period of abandonment of the site: 'Thirty years of silence. Thirty years of graffitied walls. Thirty years of oblivion.
That too was not tolerable!' With firmness, he reaffirmed his refusal of real estate speculation and his attachment to collective memory: 'I have never given in to the easy way out. I have never accepted that this memory should be turned into a postcard for developers.
I said no to marinas. No to speculation. No to real estate.
But also, no to oblivion. How many times have I been accused of having false projects? But the facts are there: nothing was built.
Nothing.
Because I stood firm. Because I never betrayed. The only path I never ruled out is that of reindustrialisation. But not just any. A reindustrialisation worthy of who we are. A demanding, useful, and human reindustrialisation. And today, this path is opening up to us.
This site belongs to Naval Group. It is not communal land. And in today's world, where tensions are intensifying, conflicts are reappearing, and threats are getting closer, it is vital to regain our sovereignty.'
The return of Naval Group is part of a €16 million Plan Urbain Partenarial, aimed at upgrading roads, adapting the wastewater treatment plant, creating a public landscaped park, redeveloping the seafront, and modernising public facilities. 'From September, €3.5 million will protect the neighborhood from the Carrubier floods: rebuilding and extending the protective wall to the Antoine Bussone school, creating a safety spillway, rebuilding the Carrubier canal to the sea, and reconstructing the pedestrian footbridge on the coastal path,' announced François de Canson.
Photos by Alain BLANCHOT.