The Payer Parliament refused to give more women’s names to its streets in order to pay homage to female figures. A municipal explains.
© 24 hours/Philippe Maeder
The city of Payerne has a habit of paying homage to men, like General Jomini, who has an avenue in his name.
Streets named following women in Payerne? A good idea in substance, but not in form, according to Parliament. The motion was therefore rejected by a large majority, reports “La Liberté”, while other cities such as Geneva have recently feminized several streets. In Payerne, the idea for the project came from Timour Luisier, elected green to the local legislature, and his colleague Léa Bucher, from the Socialist and Independent Party. And for good reason: apart from a dead end named in memory of Berthe de Souabe, no street in Payerne bears the names of women who have left their mark on the city of Vaud or who have put it in the spotlight.
“Women are not highlighted” in the streets of Payerne, conceded in the journal the municipal PLR Edouard Noverraz. He indicates that he is not opposed to the process, quite the contrary, but does not intend to add a new commission. For him, the project is too close to the motion once morest street harassment which was accepted by the Council in January 2021. The liberal-radical in charge of population, health and culture explains: “In this request, there is a question of respect for women who have not been visible in our streets for centuries”.
