Dax: “The residents of Cuyès also have the right to their neighborhood life”

In the Landes, this type of structure can be counted on the fingers of one hand: "There are only three," she confirms.

"We have several areas of work: social life animation, the famous living together, parenting, with a family advisor, social mediation, partly financed by the State, via classification in priority neighborhoods, and the area of ​​integration through economic activity, the aim being, with France Travail or the Local Mission, to work with people who are furthest from employment."

Are incivility and drug problems creeping into the counter of the former community center? "Yes, we can talk about it: on Wednesday mornings, we have a "tea or coffee" time, where residents come and chat, talk about their problems, and it still comes up. The neighborhood, which isn't clean enough, even though the services of the L Ville and XL Habitat work on it every day, the drug problems, which move regularly: we intervene on one tower, it moves to another building and it's no longer the same residents who are affected. It creates a nuisance, but the people of the neighborhood don't allow themselves to complain too much about it."

Cuyès residents also speak positively about their neighborhood: "When people say it's hard to get into, that's not true. It's no different from other priority neighborhoods; it's a decent place to live, with people who have been here for forty years and don't want to leave. There's been a lot of work and development in recent years. In the evenings, at night, or on weekends, perhaps when local services are a little less available, that's when there are problems."

Some events planned in recent weeks have been canceled, fearing that crowds or disturbances could occur: on June 19, a Jobs Forum organized by the Grand Dax and France Travail was to host, among others, two food trucks, which were canceled. For the Cuyès festival this Saturday (see program inset), the neighborhood association canceled the evening meal, for the same reasons.

“Don’t block off an entire neighborhood”

"Residents also have the right to their neighborhood life. We're organizing a Tous à l'eau event in a week, and there's no way we're canceling the concert and the shared meal. These families also need these events; some aren't going on vacation, so we're also encouraging them to get out of the neighborhood and go to the Berges Éphémère. A few individuals can't block an entire neighborhood."

In recent years, registrations at the Citizens' House have increased, reaching 500 members by 2024. The social project, co-developed with residents, is due to be renewed for four years next year. "The Family Allowance Fund has approved it and is subsidizing part of the structure. We're in the middle of a construction project!"