Loos-en-Gohelle : a laboratory of sustainable development

Jean-François Caron was born in a mining area which was also a bastion of trade unionism. Although he inherited an awareness of social responsibility from his father, a self-management activist, he chose ecology - not the most obvious choice in his native region - as his platform. In view of the urgent global climate problem, he considered it necessary to devise a new model for social life and development, and to introduce new methods. In 2001, he succeeded his father as mayor of Loos-en-Gohelle, and launched a project for a sustainable town, an idea which he is pursuing enthusiastically. This project is focussed on three interlinked factors: the environment ; the economy linked to sustainable development ; and social cohesion. Because of the surprising results of this project, his town has become a reference point, and Caron was re-elected mayor with 82.1 % of the votes. He is now considering how to replicate these experiences elsewhere, and to benefit from the ideas and methods which have emerged from this work.