The Angers Cie Map stages war scenes shots

In a quiet province like Anjou, far away from international news, dramatic as important issues nevertheless attract audience. That was the case with the play "Right to the end", written by Eric Bouvet, a photojournalist who was sent a few years ago to cover the Chechenia conflict opposing supporters of the independance of that Russian province, to Russia. The story is staging what were his feelings during the coverage of the Chechenia war.

That war leaded Eric Bouvet to face horrors, death, hell and madness. Following Russian soldiers, he depicts in "Right to the end", the progressive terrible bids between fighters of both sides. Brought face to face to such non sense facts and behaviours, it is possible that Mr Bouvet needed to write the things he saw after he "shots" them.

"Right to the end" was played in Saint-Barthélémy d'Anjou, a city in the surroundings of Angers on March 12th, after the story of Eric Bouvet was "translated" to the stage by the Angevine theatre "Cie Map", settled in the Monplaisir district. Both, Eric Bouvet and Map recently deserved the comments of the national daily newspaper Le Monde.

Letter from the editor

Dear Sam, Thank you for your kind comment. The choices of Angers inhabitants in favor of English sounding christian names is intriguing and has maybe something to see with a wish to introduce English words in their "home world". Regards. Edgar

Letter from the editor

Angers Daily News will interrupt its publication during a week for holidays. Edgar

"So British" is (at the) Welcome

"So British", the British forthight stops in Angers but just for two days! That event, initiated by the European cultural centre, an association located in Nantes and supported by Nantes Métropole, is about to travel across the Pays de la Loire. In Angers, the initiative is unfolded with several participants : the Maison de l'Europe 49, the English speaking library of Angers and the Wigan ambassador in Angers.

If "The Islanders in sight" are often considered as people having a way of life and of mind as different, sometimes conflicting with those of the continent. That's the gap the British fortnight stop in Angers wants to fill because, in spite of the differences, the two cultures have a lot of common elements. And the French way of life is clearly influenced by the British one. A walk along the stores front sides in Angers allow to notice the important use of English words...

If those are able to catch the interest of the Angevin passer by, that one should have a glance to the British exhibition. Permanent organizations dedicated to the tea tradition ("The nice cup of tea"), virtual visits of London and some of its monuments will take place for two days while different workshops will be set up on March 16th and 17th : an English market, debates about man and woman equality and above all a conference about the stereotype in English and French relations, by the Wigan ambassador to Angers, Al Makraz. 

The place where the fortnigh will be hosted is, by itself, a clue about the friendly interest of Angers towards the Islanders. The name of that building "Les Salons Curnonsky" was known, for a long time, by Angevins, and in French, "Le Welcome"...

Steal job

It was a crazy act. The man who commited it was probably mad. To attack a Pôle-Emploi agency with an aerosol spray for toilets is more inept than dangerous. Even if the man had nevertheless planned everything to make believe that it was about to commit an hold-up! Alas (for him) in spite of his mask, he did't impress anybody because, last but no least, there is no a single euro to steal in the unemployment authority...

The only valuable goal of such an action was to steal... a job. So much people in Angers and in France would be ready to carry out crazy things to get a job : some even publish their picture on a whole page of newspapers. Coincidence, the same day Angers medias reported the attack of the Angers Pôle Emploi agency, they debriefed they readers about the soaring of jobless people. With a 10% level, the unemployment reaches its worst level in France history. And Angers could be, according to the latest statistics, on the same trend.

So it's not amazing an Angers Pôle Emploi agency be attacked for a job. What person, sensible, without a single answer to hundreds of candidacies could be ready to do in order to get a job? If truth be told, was the robber of Pôle Emploi so crazy? All that joblessness doesn't smell good...

With the project of a new congress centre, the Maine reconquest should be considered as a source of revenues for the city

After the first change along the Maine right bank took place a few weeks ago near the Angers rowing club, a more general approach is planned by the Angers city council towards inhabitants. After the choice of an architects team by the town councillors in April 2012, a group of Angevins has since worked on the project of the redevelopment of the Maine banks. A synthesis of its technical constraints and the population opinion about the scheme is planned on March 19th at the Angers law school.

The "New Banks" project consists in a "reconquest of the river sides" aiming at gathering the left and the rights... parts of the town and at strenghening the attractiveness of the city in Western France first. If there is no doubt about the positive consequences of the project regarding the urban consistency of the city, its effects about the fame of Angers outside the West of the counctry seem, until now, a little bit vague. 

The risk is to get a place only designed for the Angevins pleasure while it should be a tool to attract tourists, for business or for leisure, from other parts of France and even from abroad. The set-up of the new congress centre announced a few weeks ago should give more consistency to the project. The new banks could also bring money.

Angers political leaders could meditate over sports facilities projects

A year before the 2014 municipal ballots, the field of public facilities becomes a ground for fights for the minority of Angers town council. Sometimes, the attacks come directly from its leader, Christophe Béchu, regarding the project of a new congress centre. Sometimes indirectly, through a current member of the minority side, and lately, Gilles Groussard, regarding the new Biowatt power plant. 

But there is a project the minority suggested in the past which could not resurface soon : a new stadium for the soccer club Angers Sco. Le Mans, a neighbouring city of Angers, is painfully, facing a difficulty coming from its decision to get a new stadium for its soccer team. After the club declined from the first to the second division, its financial revenues sharply decreased. 

But the cost of its new stadium, property of the Vinci group, didn't decreased. Event after the rent was divided by 50% from € 12 million to € 600 000 per year, by Vinci, nevertheless, Le Mans FC is currently unable to pay the wages of the players... So, the Angers inhabitants should be cautious to the project of a new stadium for the Sco. Because, in sports, chance is an important part of the game. The promoters of such a foolish idea should be warned by a red card.

Pasteur Avenue murder : more questions remain after the accused tried to set fire to his prison cell

The man accused of the murder of a woman a month ago tried to set fire to the  cell in which he not imprisoned. Samir Adam Hassan, 20 years old Sudanese who is charge to have cut Nicole Chatelain's throat in front of her home on Pasteur boulevard, was found burnt on the ablazed mattress on which he was sat. The man has been conveyed to the Angers hospital.

The reasons of his act are unknown as well as the motive of his murder and his attacks with arms against three policemen, and among them, a woman. It was said that the man was living in Angers for several years but had no jobs and was in charge of the Promo-Jeunes association where Nicole Chatelain was educator. 
 
If the questions about the behaviour of that man are, at that time, unanswered, the questions about his presence in Angers remains without explanations. In the meantime, three young African, whom it is said they are minor, have been hosted on an emergency way, two in a temporary housing and the third in an hotel without any support. A support which could nevertheless be useful to avoid the drama of Nicole Chatelain.

The Angers store owners want a municipal policy with "services included"

If the Angers city has not yet galvanised the retail trade business in down town, it has nevertheless succeeded to galvanise the retail store owners! These, infuriated by the increase of car park fares, worried (for a while) by the project of pavement tax, weakened by the opening of the commercial park Atoll (after the works of the tramway line), recently made angry because of the prohibition to open on Sundays before Christmas and End of the Year day (then by the ban of cooking crepes on the pavements), have elected the man who held the "megaphone" since a year. 

Fabien Rebours, now the president of the professionnal organization of the retail stores owners of Maine et Loire, is the most critical adversary of Jacques Motteau, Angers deputy mayor in charge of commerce. His election should not temper his enthusiasm for a lively Angers down town. The Groupement d'entente du commerce de détail, until now a discreet and old association of retail store owners, has unanimously elected on February 28th Mr Rebours as president after a crowdy meeting, signal of its members are fed up with a municipal policy they say it doesn't take care of their business, their employees and their customers.

If the industrial sector has declined during the last twenty years in Angers, its is not the case of the trade sector, indication of the expansion of the service sector, in the city and over France. The new managers of the Gec have already claimed what will be the issues they want to talk about with Mr Motteau : a car park municipal policy viable for their employees and their customers, the stimulation and the promotion of the neighbourhood stores and the opening of stores on Sundays before Christmas. And, at the top of if, just one year before the 2014 municipal elections!

A "heavy truck" twinning between Angers and Södertäjle

Södertälje (Credit Picture Wikipedia)

A new orientation is at work in the twinning policy of Angers city. The future twinnings must be... useful. In order to be sure of that, twinnings must be based, at least for a part, on the economic interest of the Angers city. That was one the caractacterics of the agreement signed by Angers with Austin, the capital of Texas. And that is also, one of the caracteristics of the project of twinning between Angers and Södertälje, the Angers mayor, Frédéric Béatse, announced a few days ago. Södertälje is the city where is located the headquarter of Scania, the Swedish trucks manufacturer which set up in Angers almost twenty years ago a factory.

"Scania is an emblematic company of Angers city and an important employer", said Mr Béatse when he made public the project. "Scania attracts towards Angers clients coming from France and from Europe", pointed out a Scania representative, adding that "Angers is our front side". So, Angers town hall probably want to build on Scania a supplementary attractiveness and to be part of that front side.

Credit Picture Scania

Södertäjle should be the 7th city Angers is twinned with. Haarlem, Onasbrück, Pisa, Wigan, Bamako didn't, until now, brought a lot of economic advantages to Angers. Those were more considered with Austing because Angers hosts some companies dedicated to the music industry, the Austin twinning could strenghen. In the competition with the other territories of Western France to get new companies (and new jobs), Angers is using the twinning way. Twinning usefulness with pleasure : why not?.

From street code to courtesy code

"I love Angers. I drive to 30 km/h" is the title of a campaign the city council unfolds over the different districts of the town. That initiative is part of the "Street code" policy which aims, unofficially, to dissuade inhabitants to use their cars in town in favor of alternative mode of travel : tramway or buses, biking or simply walking. In every district, the speed in most of the streets is now limitated to 30km/h, while, along the principal ways, the speed stays unchanged at 50 km/h.

The idea is good for inhabitants' health (and wallet), air cleanliness, quietness of streets and safety of trafic... But to convince inhabitants to let their car in the garage, Angers will have to enhance advantages to go in town by "soft" or collective modes of transportation. And the current conditions stimulating inhabitants to use one or the other are not yet gathered. The price of a one way ticket by bus or tramway is €1.40 what is quite expensive, and travellers have to buy another one for their way back home if they stay more than one hour in down town.

For the bikers, it's not better because of the unsafety of traffic : lanes for bikers are hardly ever distinct from the ways dedicated to cars but the limitation of the maximum speed for these may be counterproductive for bikers. At 30 km/h, cars do not go faster than bikes and the drivers may be get irritated, so more agressive. In that way, the association of inhabitants - drivers or walkers from time to time - looks suited to the objective. 

But the street code should also include measures aiming at "driving" inhabitants to have respect for the cleanliness of the urban ways...The street code is also a courtesy code and from that point of view, the game is far from being won.

The scheme of a congress centre in the middle of the campaign... of 2014

The new congress centre should be on the left (credit Angers)

The project of a new congress center planned by the Angers city council majority will be, as it was said in that blog a few weeks ago (February 14th 2013), an important stake of the next municipal polls. That possibility, mentionned a few weeks ago by Jean-Claude Bachelot, deputy mayor, was confirmed on March 1st by... Christophe Béchu, likely candidate to the office of Angers mayor, who criticized the scheme of a that new congress centre.

Pointing out the majority project will be too costly and not served by the second tramway line, Mr Béchu claimed that other locations existed : "There are some temporay solutions to imagine for conventioneers : Terra Botanica", the park he set up a few years ago in Avrillé and which is not at its best. After three operating years, the park frequentation does not take off. About 260 000 visitors were recorded in 2010, 300 000 in 2011 and around 270 000 last year.  So, the facility is far to have reached its objectives : 400 000 visitors per year. 

The Terra Botanica park

 According to the president of the Conseil general de Maine-et-Loire, the main weakness of the Angers town council projet is its location. "When the new congress centre will be opened, it will not be served by a tramway". But Terra Botanica is and nevertheless...

At Angers Marcé airport, Palma de Mallorca, clear for take off

At Angers Marcé airport, summer holidays are already planned. A new destination has just appeared on the "short list" of the holidays flights. Next to Tunis, there are now on the airport website the Balearic Islands. A direct flight Angers-Palma is scheduled every Thursday from July 4th to August 22nd. The capital of the islands would be run by Air Nostrum, a subsidiary of the Spanish company, Ibéria. 

For that destination, Air Nostrum will use a Crj 900 with a passenger capacity of  88 seats. That company already links many Spanish cities. Stayings would be sold by the Voyamar-Aérosun agency, but do not yet appear on its website. It is the first time that country may be reached from Marcé. The season of the flights is shorter than on the other destination, Tunis, which is available from mi-April till the end of October. 

The Balearic Islands should attract a lot of Angers tourists because the weather is hot and sunny in the archipelago from May to October. That confims the choice of Angers Marcé for charter flights for Southern destinations. Regarding the regular lines, the Angers-Nice has been interrupted because of technical problems and the other towards London will resume on May 28. During winter, Angers is an island.

Angers Valley should care its Loire

If Angers is not crossed by the Loire, all events regarding that river may have consequencies, at least, consequencies about the image of the city which is looking  to enlarge its fame with the brancd Angers Loire Valley. That town as well as others located along the river should take care of the results of a survey the French daily Le Monde published on February 25th and unequivocally titled "Loire basin animals contamited by polluting substances".

The three years long survey demonstrates that all living species, animals, fish, birds are concerned by the pollution of the royal river. Marks of pesticides, polychlorinated byphenyl and even mercury have been found in different species. Hopefully, thanks to the regulations, no species of the widlife is threatened of disappearance.

Nevetheless, the Loire river fauna may suffer of two other elements of the environment : first, the presence of pharmaceutical and hormonal subtances that have not been studied but can have consequencies. Secondly, the global warming which leads to a decrease of the level of the water, so to a concentration of polluting substances, later reactivated by winter rises.

The Angers new website as a front side

At about one year before the next municipal ballots, perversity could lead to say that the Angers town council majority cares its communication through a new website. More lighten, less colourful but more relaxing, those are the first caracteristics of the Angers city website the internet users will notice. A giant "Angers.fr" claims the city is definitely involved in the internet era. But the main message delivered by the website is the will of the city to locate its homepage as an entrance to the social networks.

Facebook, Twitter, Dailymotion and Rss flows indicate an attention to stay close to the inhabitants and their mindset. The line dedicated to projects, districts and daily life must allow internet users to get answer about general as well as very pratical issues. The aesthetes or persons planning to visit the city will find panoramic shots on many aspects of Angers : gardens, facilities but not the stores...

The political note that could be find out is in the section "From projects to projects". Through that headline, Angers is looking to desmonstrate it goes ahead even if, curiously, the visitor first sees : the history of the city... Apparently, the website doesn't speak English. That's a pity for the internet users speaking that language... and for the fame of the city itself.

Angers university has got a deferment but will have to make choices

The Angers university has just got a little bit more time. After weeks of difficult talks its president, Jean-Paul Saint-André, and the ministry of higher education have reached an agreement. The first must save € 350 000 in 2013 and the second will grant a additionnal allocation of € 350 000.  So, in 2013, the structure will be able to run normally. If things are becoming clear, they are nevertheless delicate. 

First that situation of deficit has been admitted by the state "by special dispensation". Secondly, because Angers Loire Métropole and the Pays de la Loire province granted "exceptionally" about € 900 000. The result is the 2013 deficit is lowered to € 1.6 million and must become nil in 2014. The situation has now improved because a few weeks ago, Mr Saint-André faced a double problem. 

Credit Picture : Angers University

The deficit was € 2.4 millions and the board of directors denied to assume the case. The president of Angers university may take a breathe for a while but the case is not yet solved because additionnal savings look unavoidable in the years to come and especially on wages. The 2013 overall budget reaches € 140 millions and, on that amount, 82% are already dedicated to wages. That does a little bit questionable his decision to transform in civil servants 24 people till now hired in contract and to recruit 24 others supplementary teachers. 

Angers people may consider that the anti-airport demonstrators have their head in the clouds

The Angevins opponents to the Notre-Dame-des-Landes airport scheme do not give up. After they tried to disturb the New Year greetings evening of the Angers mayor and of the Angers Loire Métropole president in early January, they demonstrated again in Raliement square on February 23rd. If their warnings appeared a little bit incongruous and counterproductive during the speeches of the Angers officials, Saturday, pedestrians didn't paid much attention to the demonstrators. 

It seems that, for the Angers present at that place, the demonstrators engaged themselves in a rearguard action. After two decades of surveys, public decisions and even contracts now implemented, and morevoer gloomy economic forecasts for 2013 and beyond, Angers inhabitants may consider that the abandon of the project could accentuate difficulties of short and medium range : unemployement, unattractiveness and even lack of contact with the outside world.

While the territorial authorities launched recently a new platform in favor of the airport, the slogans of the demon-strators, unchanged for months, attacked the Ayrault government, i.e. a national authority what denotes a weak setting-down of their campaign. For Angevins inhabitants, as for many other people of French western cities, what is at stake is not the government but the advantages and disavantadges the airport may bring to them and their children.

Angers mobile store owners have not time to wastes

The Angers open air market which takes place every Saturday morning on Maréchal Leclerc square is  a place many inhabitants love to walk around. Under the sun, but also under the cloudy and freezy day, there is always hustle and bustle between the stalls of flowers, vegetables, sea-food or local meals. Even if the prices are generally more expensive than in other places of the city, the atmosphere is something inhabitants are looking for.

Once the open air market over, the Maréchal Leclerc square has something similar to a deserted battleground. The mobile retail store owners have gone, leaving behind them wastes, papers and cardstocks men of the steets cleaning municipal department will have to clear. If the mobile store owners have paid a tax to set up their stalls on the square, some of them visible don't care about the mess they let behind them.

So Angers townhall would be well inspired to plan some waste containers in order to make the cleanliness of the city something people who live and work in it have in mind.

Angers télé : the way to reference is not deference

The start of Angers télé could have been rather difficult, according to numerous observers of the city medias landscape. While the opening of the channel was planned at 7 pm o'clock sharp, the first program took 20 mn to be broadcasted because of a difficult connection with the Rochefort-sur-Loire emitter. Since, the programs are broadcasted by hertzian way.The accessibility to the programs depends on the conclusion of an agreement between the different operators and Angers télé what could be more or less long. Even Angers website had had to give some informations about the frequences.

But the best acces to Angers télé is the web. Ant first glance, Angers Télé is rather colourful and more inspired than its predecessor, Angers 7. Maybe because the news were rather dramatic for the opening day : the laying off of a small girl from her school reestaurant, a meeting about Mali, the return to normal life of the Angers university,... But the willingness to talk about easy issues (restored bikes  for very low income persons with some deference to public institutions) could resurface quicky and damage the course of the new channel.

The anchorwomen, Nadège Abderrazak, looks to know the issues she is talking about, but is maybe a little too much attracted by her notes and speaks on a twitchy way. But after 24 hours of life, Angers télé can only improve itself.

in Angers, to tweet or not to tweet is not a question

In 24 hours, Angers has stated loud and clear its presence throughout a new tv channel, "Angers télé", just launched on February 21st, and "Tweeter", the world online social networking service. According to a survey published by La Gazette des Communes, more than 60% of the French big cities use that device which allows to the citizen-internet user-inhabitants to stay in touch with the news in their cities and even to become, from time to time, a decision-maker.

In a general ranking, Angers city is first, as well as for quantitative and qualitiative criterias : among them number of followers and tweet frequency. More than 4 400 followers are in touch through Twitter with Angers city. Angers mayor, and himself former manager of a computer company, Fredéric Béatse, says he is "convinced about the interest of the social network" because that one " is a way to stay close to the citizens", and probably to the voters...

The other event is the opening of the new Angers télé channel. The city was voiceless since the closure of Angers 7. Angers télé is also available on the web, a cheaper way to broadcast and to get audience. The new local tv claimed it would not be the "mayor's tv". That could be a disadvantage because in the field of internet, and given the success in Tweeter, it is clear the Angers mayor has the know how...