"Break up the rich ghettos": criticized by his opponents, Éric Piolle explains his words

Eric Piolle explains. The mayor of Grenoble (Les Écologistes) returned this Wednesday, August 6, on RTL microphone to his comments concerning "ghettos" that he said he wanted to "break up", in an interview for Le Dauphiné Libéré , considering that these mainly brought together "rich" people.

While this interview mainly concerned "working-class neighborhoods" and "the major investments we are making there," "I also pointed out that our public policy is that we all mix and so we are very active in developing social housing in neighborhoods where there is none at all," explained the Grenoble mayor, who will not be seeking a third term in 2026.

In accordance with the Urban Solidarity and Renewal Act (SRU), "we have just passed the 25% mark for social housing," he said, hoping that promising real estate developers will continue in this direction:

"We tell them that we will set a rate of social housing that depends on the number of social housing units already present in the neighborhood. If there are less than 5% of housing units, we must indeed create 45% social housing in new developments. If there are already 25% social housing units, we must create 30%. And where there are already a lot of them, we create more."

As for the "rich ghettos," Éric Piolle was careful not to specify the areas he was targeting. When RTL asked him if he was talking about the city's hypercenter, the elected official replied: "There are a few pockets in the hypercenter, there are a few pockets on a Grenoble scale in certain neighborhoods, but there are quite a few of them."

On the other hand, "when we broaden the focus to the scale of the catchment area, we have a certain number of municipalities where, at the time of the wealth tax (in 2018, Emmanuel Macron replaced it with the property wealth tax, editor's note) there were people among the highest taxable rates in France," he stressed.

Asked about his work for the working-class districts of Grenoble, and more specifically that of La Villeneuve, Éric Piolle told the Dauphiné Libéré on July 31:

"What we're trying to do is break down the ghettos. But we have to remember that ghettos are mostly ghettos for the rich! The problem with the city of Grenoble isn't the extraordinary and stimulating diversity that exists in La Villeneuve, but these spaces where there's no social housing at all."

These remarks earned him criticism from several of his opponents, including the former mayor of Grenoble (1983-1995) Alain Carignon, now a municipal councilor and located on the right of the political spectrum.

The candidate for the next municipal elections criticized a communication that was "indecent for all the residents who are experiencing the difficulties of the Villeneuve neighborhood" where, according to him, there is an "anxious climate, practically not a day without clashes, sometimes violent, between idle youths and the police."