The mayor of Pontigny received the icaunais businessman François Schneider, the Mission de France and the representatives of the Regional Council. The patron chosen by the Region wants to make the estate a tourist and cultural place, with a hotel complex and a museum around the Cistercian Abbey.
The sale to the Schneider Foundation by the region is postponed for a year, elected officials and residents fear a privatization of the site. Emmanuel Maufroy obtained guarantees.
France Bleu Auxerre: So you got assurances from François Schneider?
Emmanuel Maufroy : I can reassure the inhabitants of Pontigny and the department, Mr. Schneider does not intend to privatize the site, I can guarantee it. We worked on different points. We are brought to meet again. We have made good progress, there has been no clash.
So no privatization of parking lots or paying entry to the Abbey?
No, no privatization of parking lots, no paid parking, or movement of school buses as we have heard. You will not pay at the entrance to the Abbey, you will only have to pay for the guided tours on the estate. The Abbey remains free and open to all.
So the Abbey Church is not in danger of disappearing, as some elected officials fear?
No ! A distinction must be made between the estate bought by the Schneider Foundation and the Abbey Church. I wish an animation around ‘Abbey. We will do everything to ensure that it is put forward, even when we are no longer in this world.
The position of the municipality remains decisive in the outcome of the project …
Yes, the next step will be to discuss it with the municipal council. There was an information problem, a lot of things were said. There is no need to be afraid. François Schneider is hopeful of finding a hotel partner.
The problem is that, given the volume of activities to come, we have to think about movements in the village and this is what we have to study with the Department and the Region.