The wild market of the Mosson, provokes the anger of some of the inhabitants of the quarter. These food and flea market stalls have been spreading for several months in this district of Montpellier, opposite the Assas tower and the “Stade de la Mosson” tram stop. During a meeting to present the Mosson urban renewal project at the end of March, the town hall had renewed its promises to fight against this market, but people are still waiting. They therefore gathered in front of the market this Saturday to protest and raise awareness among passers-by.
– Nicolas Joly
Worry and Exasperation
Cartons, pallets, clothes and rotten food. You can find everything in the heap of rubbish at the entrance to the market, which is growing day by day, “Imagine if there is a cigarette butt falling, a fire. It can hurt people or burn cars nearby”, worries Abdelilah. He has the impression that the inhabitants are left alone facing the problem. “At the beginning the police intervened. After that it decreased day by day. The last time I saw the police, they were stationed in the middle to deter people, and since then nothing.”
For Hicham, who was born and raised in La Paillade, this wild market gives a bad image of the neighborhood and its inhabitants. “How can a child growing up in a working-class neighborhood where everything and anything is allowed to want to vote, to respect citizenship and the law?” he wonders. The inhabitants make it clear that they are not at war with anyone, and that their action has nothing to do with politics. They just want to live in a clean neighborhood.