held a press conference on Tuesday afternoon to officially launch the joint territorial project
The subject had been under discussion for five years
But the Moselle Prefect only approved it this summer
The conurbations of Thionville-Portes de France (80,000 inhabitants in 13 communes) and Val de Fensch (71,000 inhabitants in 10 communes) will become a single entity on 1 January 2026
under the name of Thionville-Fensch Agglomération
This will make it the 36th largest conurbation in France
and the second largest in Moselle in terms of population
"necessary" - each elected official has his or her own way of describing the coming together of the two conurbation communities
president of Thionville-Portes de France and mayor of Thionville
president of CA Val de Fensch and mayor of Fameck
which will have a population of nearly 160,000
the borders drawn by politicians no longer exist in the region
"In the day-to-day life of the people who live in our area
the merger has been in place for a long time
We move from one community to the other without any urban break
Just as many people from the two conurbations go to work in the other every day
The catchment area is already the same," explains Michel Liebgott
The Portes de France CA has its headquarters in Thionville
while the Val de Fensch CA has its headquarters in Hayange
outlines some of the issues at stake: "We are facing major regional challenges
not least because of our geographical position: problems of mobility
ecological transition and the redevelopment of brownfield sites
the same territorial issues and the same problems of territorial management
The two areas also have another feature in common: a growing number of cross-border commuters
the ratio of jobs to employed people in the Portes de France-Thionville and Val de Fensch conurbation communities is the highest in Northern Lorraine
at 88 and 70 jobs respectively for every 100 employed people
"On major issues such as the metropolitan regional express service
it's clear that when you're a local authority with 160,000 inhabitants
as you are on health and university issues
It's a fact that has to do with the balance of power between local authorities
We are going to create a balance of power"
The merger should also enable us to "bring our weight to bear in the debate
but also to bring our weight to bear on French territory by joining forces
I think it's important that a local authority with a population of 160,000 is now organised for discussions
for example with Prosud on the Luxembourg side"
who is likely to be the future chairman of the new conurbation
according to his counterpart Michel Liebgott
the priorities in terms of cross-border cooperation are theand achieving a new way of working with Luxembourg on health issues
in addition to the issues : "We want to promote ambitious projects
such as a Thionville-Esch connection via the Bus à haut niveau de service (BHNS)
even though this is the responsibility of the Region
given the demographic situation and the scarcity of land in Luxembourg
most of the issues mentioned by the two elected representatives are already being discussed within the framework of the France-Luxembourg Intergovernmental Commission (CIG)
the result of a Franco-Luxembourg agreement signed in 2010 to strengthen cross-border cooperation
It should not be confused with the Pôle métropolitain frontalier
which is also a cross-border cooperation area
The latter brings together eight inter-municipalities in Moselle and Meurthe-et-Moselle (338,000 inhabitants) structured around the urban centres of Thionville and Longwy
as well as the southern fringe of the mainly Luxembourg centre of Kayl-Ottange
while the latter - which also has a seat on the CIG - is more limited to a regional dimension
"The strength we have today through the PMF also depends on the existence of a large conurbation
The objective would be for this large conurbation to also exist as such
and for it not just to have deputies and prefects
We can't solve the problems we have here from Paris
The Luxembourg government is familiar with these problems
who has himself sat on the CIG as an MP in the past
the two conurbations are strengthening their common position within the PMF
this does not mean adding "another layer" to the "millefeuille"
which will have more weight and will be a more influential partner
This will enable us to structure projects and make progress in the discussions we want to have with our Luxembourg colleagues
We will now have a clear idea of what we want for our region
"there's nothing to say that this new conurbation won't extend as far as certain municipalities on the border
The Pays haut - Val d'Alzette and Cattenom et environs intermunicipalities are closer to the Luxembourg border
told the weekly La Semaine last summer: "I just hope that this merger will bring something positive to the people who live here and that it is not just a political ploy to create a counterpart to Metz
but also the Cattenom CC and the Pays Haut Val d'Alzette CC
which are geographically closer to the border
the elected representatives will elect the new council
which will have a president and 15 vice-presidents
the new community should have 80 elected members
compared with almost 100 today with the two conurbations
The new council will be in place from1 January 2026
in the former CCI building recently acquired by the Portes de France-Thionville CA
the new council will have to submit itself to the people's choice
as 2026 will be a municipal election year in France
It is only after this vote that the territorial project
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FDN / Culture / Books / The Macronists and the Goncourt 2018… A gag
""Their parents after them" by Nicolas Mathieu
The former Secretary of State for the Budget was astonished that men and women close to Macron would admire a book that
A press article in an evening newspaper describes the admiration of many macronists for Nicolas Mathieu’s book “Their children after them” (Goncourt 2018 prize)
The journalist recounts the surprising admiration of Julien de Normandie
Sibeth Ndiaye or Pierre Person for a book whose author never ceases to express his aversion to their President and his reforms
original and even surprising and deserves to be extended
somewhat legitimate to do so: I was born in the valley that serves as the setting for the novel
surrounded by families of workers and miners
I spent my childhood and adolescence there a few years before the characters in the book
I did summer jobs in the steelworks of Florange
a town that became famous for its blast furnaces
I taught for 10 years at the Lycée public de Fameck (Lameck in the book…)
a town that was then for Lorraine what Seine-Saint-Denis is today for France
I lived (and still live) in the neighbouring Pays-Haut and was Mayor for 27 years of a town where iron miners occupied the bottom of their mine in 1963 for 79 days (including Christmas Eve) to protest against redundancies
I was twice elected Member of Parliament for the riding of Longwy
where I was on first-name terms in the markets more often than in Bercy
others in close proximity to the Grand Duchy fared much worse
As far as Luxembourg’s neighbouring Lorraine region is concerned, the rankings show that Metz, the capital of the Moselle department, has dropped five places in one year, slipping from 33rd to 38th place nationally, while Nancy, the capital of Meurthe-et-Moselle, continues its own downward slide, moving from 112th to 124th between years.
The methodology of the ranking is questionable, as the criteria analysed may penalise the communes in the north of Lorraine because of their distance from France’s major urban centres. Despite this, there are communes that manage to shine.
Mey and Peltre municipalities may seem a long way from the border because of their proximity to Metz rather than Thionville, but given the growing number of cross-border workers from Moselle, the Metz area is increasingly seen as being 'on the border' with the Grand Duchy. This is evidenced by the growing number of cross-border commuters who travel to Metz to take the train to Luxembourg, or who use the nearby A31 motorway.
The two communities stand out, as they have for several years. Mey and Peltre are both regulars in the top five of their respective categories. As last year, Mey tops the national ranking for villages with between 0 and 500 inhabitants (out of 18,344) - though at departmental level, it comes 37th out of 725 communes, as towns are given more prominence in the departmental rankings.
The second darling in the Metz area is Peltre, number four nationally in the 500-2,000 inhabitants category (out of 11,107 communes), having been number one in 2020 and 2021, then number two in 2022. Peltre is 17th at departmental level.
It is no surprise, given its size, that Thionville is ranked 2nd, both in terms of the number of inhabitants in the department, but also in the ranking of towns and villages where it is good to live in Moselle. Nationally, the sub-prefecture is ranked 174th.
Other towns in the surrounding area also do well: Hayange, for example, is ranked 5th at departmental level, first in its category of towns with 10,000 to 20,000 inhabitants in Moselle and 111th out of 514 in the same category at national level.
There are also towns popular with cross-border commuters such as Fameck (12th at departmental level), Yutz (16th), Florange (18th), Hagondange (21st) and Uckange (22nd).
One border area is much less well represented in Lorraine: the Pays Haut, and in particular the part located in Meurthe-et-Moselle. While Longwy, the main town in this area, ranks 20th out of 591 communes in the department, it is second-bottom (7th) among towns with 10,000 to 20,000 inhabitants in Meurthe-et-Moselle. Last is Villerupt, 513th out of 514 nationally in this category.
Mont-Saint-Martin, 39th in Meurthe-et-Moselle, is just 19th out of 22 departmental towns with 5,000 to 10,000 inhabitants. For its part, Hussigny-Godbrange is last in the category of 3,500-5,000 inhabitants in Meurthe-et-Moselle and 921st out of 969 in France.
Overall, the Pays Haut is heavily penalised in the ranking. On the Moselle side, Audun-le-Tiche also ranks near last in its category of 5,000-10,000 inhabitants in the department and comes in at 1,131th out of 1,163 nationally.
The presence of the Pays-Haut municipalities in the depths of their respective rankings can be explained in particular by the ranking taking into account only facilities present on French territory
Even though the inhabitants of this catchment area benefit from the proximity of the border
such as Findel airport and the shops and services on the other side of the border
The remoteness of urban centres is also a penalising factor: the only town classed as big on French territory within easy reach is Thionville - 32km from Audun-le-Tiche
(This story was first published by Virgule. Translation and editing by Alex Stevensson.)
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The project involves creating a new 7.9km section through Florange and a bypass around Thionville
Prefecture de Moselle/ Montage: Maison Moderne
After long months of waiting to find out the route of the future A31 bis motorway
the project is entering a new phase: that of public consultation
French transport minister Clément Beaune finally unveiled the chosen route for the future A31 bis: No
This new 7.9km section starts at the Sainte-Agathe interchange and passes through Florange via a 2.2km tunnel to rejoin the current A31 route to the west of Thionville (Bétange interchange)
A bypass to the west of Thionville is also planned
This will be a 2x2 lane road stretching 8km between the Sainte-Agathe interchange on the A30 at Fameck to the south and the étoile interchange on the A31 at Florange to the north
the minister said he hoped the work would start quickly
which has long been described as a sea serpent
the consultation phase is set to begin on 3 September and run until 1 October
with the aim of gathering public opinion so that local elected representatives can amend their planning documents accordingly
The prefecture is clear: this consultation “is not intended to discuss the appropriateness of the project
which has already been the subject of a public debate in 2015 and a preliminary consultation in 2018-2019
or the choice of route for the northern sector
which has already been the subject of a consultation in 2022-2023.”
An online space has been set up to collect residents’ opinions and questions
and registers have been set up in several municipalities directly affected by the project: Zoufftgen
There will also be office hours at town halls (see below)
the project is not intended to cure all the ills of cross-border workers on the road
Nobody thought that the A31 bis was a solution
The project is first and foremost a matter of upgrading,” said the mayor of Thionville and chairman of the urban community
the project is intended as “a response to the challenges of mobility in the Lorraine corridor,” as the state itself points out
describing it as “a complementary approach to rail and river projects.” Even so
the future route should help to relieve traffic congestion on the A31
Some aspects of the project remain unresolved
the question of the cost of the toll that is to be installed on this future route
the project will have to undergo a public enquiry in order to apply for a declaration of public utility (DUP) in 2025
The DUP is expected in the second quarter of 2026
before a call for tenders to find the concessionaire in 2027
or until 2033 according to the provisional timetable communicated by the French government
the estimated cost of the route under Florange is between €700m and €900m
The project owner’s office hours in town halls are scheduled as follows:
— 4 September from 4pm to 6pm in Terville at the town hall;
— 12 September from 4pm to 6pm in Richemont;
— 14 September from 10:30am to 12:30pm in Florange;
from 2:30pm to 4:30pm in Thionville (Maison de quartier Dupont des Loges);
— 18 September from 2pm to 4pm in Entrange;
— 18 September from 4.30 to 6.30 pm in Zoufftgen
Nancy prosecutor François Capin-Dulhoste announced that the suspect is the prime suspect in the case
"He was arrested at 6.05am near the home of his two brothers and taken into police custody," the magistrate said
The vehicle was found burnt out in Fameck in the Moselle department
The site of the shooting is a known drug trafficking location in the town with the case likely being linked to a drug story
the drug traffickers have brought out the camping chairs
they have put the scales to weigh the drugs on the window panes of our technical services," 35-year-old mayor Pierrick Spizak (PCF) lamented to the AFP news agency
"What happened was unfortunately predictable and it is not that we were not warned"
the state is responsible and guilty for the neglect of our territory," he added in a statement published on his Facebook page
speaking of "extremely serious events with cross-border implications"
Plans are still in the discussion stages but more concrete proposals are expected to be tabled in 2018.
Among the suggestions to reduce traffic on what is one of France's most heavily congested motorways and improve safety are a ring road for Thionville.
The exact route is yet to be defined but initial signs suggest it will run from Elange to Fameck to access the A30 and then join the A31.
The section between Thionville and Metz will remain unchanged, under current discussions. On the A31 between Metz and Nancy, there are discussions to expand the motorway to three lanes in each direction.
Nancy would receive a ring road, beginning around 12 kilometres from the city border and ending 33 kilometres south of Toul.
The proposed tolls would therefore be installed on the new Thionville and Nancy bypasses.
At the Luxembourg end of the motorway, meanwhile, there are plans to open a third lane over a 14-kilometre section between the Zouftgen border station and Thionville. This project is not expected to see the light of day for at least 10 years.
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