This Saturday afternoon, the esplanade of the port of Vannes is bathed in sunshine and speckled with fluorescent pink, the flagship color of the Vannetaise, an autumn sporting event. Shortly before the start of this foot race conducted for the benefit of the fight against female cancer, the silhouettes crowd, in leggings or tutu, along the Rabine – a word of Breton origin meaning “alley planted with tall trees” .
After several months of work, this vast promenade takes place on the right bank of the port. “On Saturdays and Sundays, you will always see families strolling there, picnicking on the lawns, cycling”, welcomes Mayor David Robo (Horizons), who inaugurated this green ribbon of nearly two hectares in July. . A satisfaction for the city councilor, elected in 2011, who makes welcoming families his priority.
On the cycle path that borders this new avenue, many of them pedal in a row of bicycles, from the largest to the smallest, sometimes even on cargo bikes, which are very practical for transporting groceries and kids. If the agglomeration has already been supporting this mode of transport for two years, via a contribution of 25% of the purchase cost of such a vehicle, it will also be possible, from January 2023, to rent a cargo bike on a long term in exchange for a monthly subscription.
“We were very lucky to buy before the confinement”
For the time being, on the Street Park which opens the promenade, other roller sports are essential. Prune, 8, spins on her scooter, while Oscar, 5, accomplishes his first prowess in skateboarding. Like many walkers crossed that day, their mother, Camille Bearez, does not live in Vannes itself. Residing in Vendée, she wanted to return to her native region and it was in Crac’h, about twenty kilometers away, that she acquired a house where she intends to settle soon. “We were very lucky to buy before the confinement. Since the Covid, it has become very difficult to find accommodation here”, she observes.
Faced with the rise in prices, the agglomeration created a solidarity land organization allowing it to experiment with the real solidarity lease. This device, which dissociates the ground from the building, should facilitate the accession of young families to property. “The city is fortunate to own many sites. Near the station, in Brizeux, where 33 houses were delivered in 2022, we sold the land much cheaper to the developer to build affordable housing there”, cites David Robo as an example.
Further north, in Kerniol, another project is being prepared. Nothing is still visible apart from the prefabs installed in the courtyard of the school, which has become too small to house all the classes. In September 2025, at the end of works for which the city is investing 10.5 million euros, the nursery and elementary schools will have moved a few meters away, within the Kerniol leisure farm to form a large complex there. eco-responsible with reduced energy expenditure and green courtyard.
“Being an attractive city for families is an addition of small things”, underlines the mayor, happy with the figures for the last school year which announce the arrival of around fifty new pupils in Vannes establishments. Among these little extras cultivated in Vannes is the organic market gardening company which already supplies nurseries with fruit and vegetables and which will soon provide them to schools since the area of land dedicated to production will double this year. Something to whet the appetite of the tribes!