The ancient theater of Orange, the Pont du Gard, the Roman monuments of Arles… All are listed as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. But, go figure, not the exceptional Roman monuments of Nîmes. Failed by one vote in 2018, the Nîmes file will be examined again next September by the World Heritage Committee in Saudi Arabia.
Objective: to join the prestigious club of 49 registered sites in France and the 1,125 monuments in the world. Here’s why, this time, the case has every chance of passing:
Entitled “Antiquity to the Present”, the dossier presented by Nîmes during the previous attempt suffered, according to its detractors, from a lack of readability: rather than the Roman monuments themselves, it was the stylistic and urbanistic influence of these monuments on the city since the 18th century which was put forward.
This time, straight to the point: it is one monument and only one, the Maison Carrée, which is highlighted!
“There are many castles, but there is only one Maison Carrée”, summarizes the new permanent delegate of France to Unesco, Philippe Franc. Throughout the Roman Empire there were multiple high temples, such as the Square House, during the reign of Emperor Augustus (27 BC–14 AD).
“The last time, the French ambassador to Unesco was not up to the task”, tackles the mayor of Nîmes, Jean-Paul Fournier. The next ambassador, Véronique Roger-Lacan “defended the case well, she was a real warrior”, greets the Nîmes deputy delegate for the inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List, Mary Bourgade.
Just appointed at the beginning of May, the new ambassador Philippe Franc has jumped on the bandwagon. He was present in Nîmes on Friday June 2 to both discover the monument he defends and attend a great evening of support for the candidacy of the Maison Carrée. “I have already started lobbying our European partners,” says the diplomat.
Before being adopted by the 21 members of the Committee, the file receives an opinion, not always followed, but crucial, by Icomos, the international council for monuments and sites. The latter can recommend the inscription or non-inscription of the property. In 2018, this council had advised to “defer” the Nîmes file.
“We disagreed with Icomos. There were a number of shortcomings in this opinion”, regrets Bruno Favel. Certainly, but as much to put all the chances on his side. “This time there was an upstream partnership between the Ministry of Culture, Icomos and the city of Nîmes on the content of the file”, we explain in the entourage of the mayor. It was Icomos that recommended highlighting the Maison Carrée, and it alone. His notice will fall “end of June, beginning of July”.
“We do not win this fight if we are not supported by the population”, testifies the mayor of Albi, Stéphanie Guiraud-Chaumeil, whose Episcopal City was registered, after a long procedure, in 2010. For the regional director of cultural affairs for Occitanie, Michel Roussel, the involvement of elected officials is also crucial. In Nîmes, there is no doubt: the elected officials wet the jersey, the mayor and his assistant specially delegated to the candidacy, Mary Bourgade, in the lead.
And part of the population supports the project with fervor: 500 people attended, on Friday June 2, a big evening of support for the candidacy of the monument, in the theater of the city. Sponsor of the candidacy, Franz-Olivier Giesbert, had a message to convey that evening: “Come on, we’re going to win!” »