Local officials speak out: Jean-Marc Gibey (Jargeau, Loiret)

What were the reasons behind your deliberations in favour of the Loire Valley World Heritage management plan?

The parish of Jargeau, whose history is closed tied in with the Loire’s, signed the Loire Valley World Heritage commitment charter back in November 2003. 

Because of its location – in a fully flood-prone area – the parish must come to terms with this Loire of two faces like the Roman god Janus: 

• the rebellious Loire which strictly contains the urbanisation of our territory, also protecting us from excessive and poorly controlled urbanisation through the regulatory constraints of the flood risk prevention plan, but limiting our economic development;
• the languid and lazy Loire, that of the sand banks and fishing trips in the summer, the Loire cycle paths and this nature tourism for which we deem it one of the major assets of our parish and one of the driving forces of the Jargeau economy.

In your management, have you begun to take account of the universal value of the Loire Valley? For which projects and how is this put into practice?

The parish has been committed since September 2010 to an Agenda 21 initiative, submitted for accreditation to the French Ecology Ministry. Discussions with the inhabitants highlighted as one of the strategic objectives “The Loire and Jargeau heritages as channels for vitality and appeal”. 

The actions taken in this regard seek to develop a coherent, visible and sustainable tourism policy from the Loire. These actions include the plans to remove some of the plants from part of the beach to open it up to the river again (with an integration work site), which will itself help to develop leisure activities for everyone on the river banks, such as the Jargeau-Plage initiative that has been conducted since 2010 and welcomes several thousand people each year. Another action is to continue the close partnership with the Maison de Loire du Loiret, which has been based in Jargeau since 1987. 

On this website

• Jargeau

Online

• www.jargeau.fr

With the amiable authorisation of " La Loire et ses terroirs ". 

Issue no. 81, summer 2012.