La Rochelle: “The Tasdon Bridge is part of our heritage, we must speak about it with emotion, Mr. Mayor”

Former opposition councillor Bruno Léal is asking the city council - which favours the idea of ​​reconstruction - for a more historical and emotional approach to the issue.

The new mayor of La Rochelle, Thibaut Guiraud (center left), is apparently not showing enough sentimentality regarding the fate of the Tasdon Bridge, closed to car traffic since November 2023 due to its dilapidated state. This is in any case the opinion of the former opposition (right) elected official Bruno Leal, present Wednesday evening, October 8, at the neighborhood public meeting, alongside Christophe Batcabe (center right), the first official candidate in the next municipal elections in La Rochelle. "I am saddened. The Tasdon Bridge is part of the city's heritage, its history, its landscape, its identity. You tell us: it's expensive, we're going to rebuild it, but we mustn't talk like that, we must speak with emotion, Mr. Mayor. I think you need to reconsider the matter," commented the modern history professor at the University of La Rochelle.

A few days ago, Thibaut Guiraud officially announced that the City would prioritize reconstruction of the century-old metal structure, following the Cerema (Center for Studies and Expertise on Risks, the Environment, Mobility, and Development) report. According to the elected official, the costs of demolition/reconstruction or renovation would be fairly equivalent, "give or take a few million," in his words. But in the former case, the lifespan would be ninety years, in the latter, twenty-five years. These figures and assumptions have not convinced everyone, starting with the "Tous sur le pont" collective, which favors rehabilitation and is growing impatient with the inaction of the public authorities.

"There will be a new bridge at Tasdon," insisted the mayor of La Rochelle. A new Cerema study, this time a legal one, is expected to be unveiled in November. In the meantime, the Charente-Maritime Department sends the city a monthly report on the bridge's safety. Proof that it is indeed its owner, commented Thibaut Guiraud.