It’s a story that could have ended up being snuffed out. Euffigneix, in Haute-Marne, was not so lucky and its 300 inhabitants are now fleeing social networks, where they have been lynched since The Journal of Haute-Marne revealed, on May 27, the mobilization of some of the villagers to prevent the establishment of a social assistance home for children (ASE) near their homes.
Under the aegis of the departmental council, the association Le Colibri, which already manages seven ASE homes in France, was preparing to buy a house in the town to accommodate seven children aged 7 to 12 and their five educators. Until a group of neighbors wrote an anonymous letter and obtained the withdrawal of the project.
At the beginning of April, things were however well underway, according to Jérôme Aucordier, the general manager of Colibri, an association close to the scout movement. He had found a large pavilion on the heights of the village, not too far from the school, at the end of the impasse des Fours-à-Chaux, a quiet and flowery residential area. “We had received a very good welcome from the town hall, I was planning to hold a public meeting before the summer, as soon as we had signed the sales agreement”, he says.
“We feared the damage, the noise”
By then, only the unlabeled mayor Frédéric Mutz and his first deputy were aware. In Haute-Marne, 450 children are supported by social protection. The department, which lacks, as elsewhere, host families, was keen on this project. The small home of Euffigneix was to take in children who were victims of educational deficiencies, all from the region, and some without families (state wards).
“These are kids who need to be protected. In no case of delinquent children, who are supported by the judicial protection of youth. » Jérôme Aucordier, the general manager of Le Colibri
“These are kids who need to be protected, explains Jérôme Aucordier. In no case of delinquent children, who are supported by the judicial protection of youth. » A point that the association manager did not have time to develop. “On April 23, the mayor called me to say: ‘It’s going up.’ Residents had telephoned him to say that the children could not come and settle in a residential area. » In a few days, the rumor took on such proportions that some were already alarmed to see “disembarking migrant buses”, says a member of the city council.
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