In the followingmath of the terrible tragedy that occurred at rue Belle-vue in La Louvière, tongues were loosened in the Cité des Loups. Several merchants in downtown Louviérois are indeed not surprised to see this kind of news item making the headlines as the situation has become dangerous for many years. For their part, the police indicate that they regularly pass through the Gilson district to ensure the safety of its citizens. A benign presence according to traders.
“The climate of insecurity that reigns in La Louvière is not comparable to any other city“says a downtown trader.”One can realize it only when one lives or works in the entity. Friends had tried to warn me before I arrived a few years ago. I just thought they were trying to scare me but no, the insecurity there is very real.“
Drugs and alcohol are now an integral part of the landscape of the Gilson district where this trader has decided not to go to avoid the worst. “I have personally been taken to task by people under the influence when I went to Gilson Park. Drug trafficking of all kinds is commonplace there, whether at noon or in the evening.“, confides the Louviérois trader.Some bars are also poorly attended and with alcohol, the situation often degenerates. Seeing that a person has received several dozen stab wounds doesn’t really surprise me, unfortunately.“
However, police suits pass regularly in the neighborhood, as do the punches that are quite recurrent there. “We are very often present in the neighborhood. As everywhere in the city center, management becomes more difficult in the evening when people have consumed a lot of alcohol. We therefore regularly carry out actions in the evening“, explains Cristina Iacono, communication officer for the Louviéroise police.
A presence noticed by traders but ineffective according to them. “I have never seen so many combis pass through a city. The problem is that the police never get out. There are surveillance cameras everywhere but nobody sees the problems. I work in La Louvière but I do not advise anyone to come there“, concludes a trader.
