The Confluences bridge of the trolley line ready for inauguration

The Confluences bridge will be inaugurated on october 15th. It will allow, from july 2011, the new trolley to cross the Maine between the hospital and the Gaumont multiplexe. The bridge is 293 m long, 17 wide and has a main span 161 m long. It wille be extended from the Maine by a slipway of 90 m long near the cinemas.

Eighteen companies have work on the project. The bridge is constituted by ten sections whose weight is from 30 to 50 tons each. A special crane was set up on the east bank of the Maine. He will overhand the national road 23 from 5 m high. His name was choosen after a public inquiry among 1 500 inhabitants.


The construction of the bridge started in 2008 and was due to be delivered on 2010.The Confluences bridge is part of the first trolley line whose length will be 12 km from Avrillé to La Roseraie linked by twenty five stations. The bridge will cost 27 millions € (7 millions more than expected due to the rise of the steel costs and the necessity to strenghen the foundations till 12 m under the river level), about 10% of the overall cost of the line.

An association collect the filth of Angers inhabitants.

An information published to day in the local press indicates how the inhabitants of Angers don't care their environment. Last friday, the members of an association cleaned the bank of the Maine, near Balzac Park. In only one hour, they collected a ton of wastes : tyres, oil cans, bottles and even two garbage cans trademarked "Ville d'Angers"...

But in town, it's the same thing. A few months ago the same press complained about the gums splitted on the new pavements of Alsace street. The city should stop collect the wastes (except the houseold garbage containers) threw away by cars and almost pedestrians! A clear exemple of such bad behaviour can be seen within the limits of the public works areas of the trolley and the end of every weekend. It seems that some people take pride with such uncivilities.

Such disdainful misconduct are ununderstanble with the present mood for ecology and the safety of nature. May be some people are not aware of the damages they creates (and the expenses they involve) complained the association.

Less demonstrators in Angers against the reform of the pension system

Demonstrators marched two hours in the streets of Angers against the reform of the french pensions system on september 24th. The participants gathered (were they as numerous as a few weeks before?) on the Maréchal Leclerc square from 10 am.

Entertained by the songs (going back to the 70's, a period of full employment in France), the opposants were galvanized by chants against Sarkozy giving a political more than a social tone to the parade. Then they marched along the Foch, then Roi René boulevards, crossed the Maine by Basse-Chaîne bridge before run in front of the Le quai theater.

The demonstration came back by the Ayrault and Carnot boulevards. It didn't last more than 2 hours. At 1 pm, the protesters separated. The estimations vary from 12 000 to 25 000 demonstrators in Angers. On the afternoon, they did the strike of the strike.

An inner city more and more anglicized

The inner city of Angers, which will host in a few weeks, an irish tea room in which only english will be spoken, is seeing the Shakespeare language gaining ground. More and more names of shop are in english and the reference to anglophone civilization is now quite frequent.

The bars are called : "Le snooker", "James Joyce", "Jet Lag", "Martin's", "Welcome", "Welsh", "Win's", "Matt Murphy's", "Montana", "Kent", "The Inishmore", "West Indie's cafe", "Donald's Pub" and so. The women clothes stores show the same trend ("Ikks Retail", "Jenny Mode", "La City", and of course "Levis store", "Mary Kimberley", "New Concept", "One Step", "Only Girls", "Blue Box") and, may be, outnumber the bar names. And if the shop is not yet open, the board on the shop front indicates "Coming soon..." (See "The Kooples", in Lenepveu street).

Even the lorries who supply the shop have ads written in english. The Plantagenets history has still marks in Anjou.

A "phenomenal" waiting time to get a municipal bike

The deputy-mayor of Angers has a very special sense of humor. Commenting in the local press of september 20th the waiting time the students have to accept in order to get a municipal bike - in spite the fact these have to queue since 3 hours am! -Bernadette Caillard-Humeau said without laughing : "It's a phenomenal success".

It is more surely a phenomenal mess : all bikes are lend free for a three months periode renewable three times. So a person can get a bike a year for free! Because the system is only possible one time per person, most inhabitants of Angers who pay taxes are not eligible for a bike! Most of the users are students who will not stay in Angers.

Since 2008, the quantity of bikes has doubled. But what about the waiting time to get a bike? Because the office is not open till 9.30, it's not sure Mrs Caillard-Humeau would get a "standing" ovation even from the students at 3 o'clock in the morning...

The economical message of the Angers' Journées du patrimoine

If the "Journées du patrimoine" 2010 were again a success in Angers, it has a lot to do with the lovely weather of that september 19th : 22 ° and a blue sky without a single cloud. People was probably eager to take advantage of what could may be the last weekend of summer. A lot of public and private monuments and places were open to public and in some streets of Angers (Toussaint street and La Doutre district) welcomed, with success, pedestrians in exhibitions of antiquities or flea market.

But that demonstrated, once again, that a living city in sunday is much more pleasant than the deserted city we can see most of the sundays of the year.

Why streets, shops and bars aren't opened that day? Why the city transport system is out of duty meanwhile the people need and would like to go throughout town on sundays like other days of the week? That would bring animation - and money - to the local economy. The crowds circulating in Angers that september 19th demonstrate, once again, that an economic offer (here of services) creates a demand, even on sundays. And consumers have the money to finance it!

A new tea shop in down town : english spoken... only

A tea house will open in Angers from mid november and, English will be the only one language spoken inside. "My favorite place", the name of the tea house, will take place in Espine street, a narrow and discreet way between the busy Lenepveu and Saint-Laud streets in down town.

The shop will be managed by Mary Lithoux-Greeen, an irish citizen who was, formerly, archeologist. The place (55 m2) is presently being renovated and will be dedicated to the tasting and selling of only anglo-saxon products.

With the english language library of Angers just a few streets down, ans "I-take" shop at the Ralliement square and several pubs in the surroundings, the inner city will have an english touch soon. Lovely, isn't it?