In the small city of Vence, within the Alpes-Maritimes, an archaeological discovery a couple of months earlier than the municipal election has been on the coronary heart of all debates for a number of weeks. “The paleo baptistery? It’s our political soap opera”, explains Annie (she didn’t want to give her title), a shopkeeper from the outdated city.
It was one of many flagship initiatives of Régis Lebigre, present mayor (with out label) of the city, elected in 2020: reworking the outdated city corridor right into a lined market. The municipality purchased the historic constructing, which was very degraded, for half one million euros initially of its mandate. The concept was to renovate this outdated constructing and remodel it right into a lined market to revitalize a dying metropolis middle.
The challenge was supposed to finish simply earlier than the elections in March 2026. But throughout the work, in March 2025, one of many employees fell on an outdated wall. Immediately contacted, archaeologists from the Nice Metropolis after which these from the regional directorate of cultural affairs (DRAC) confirmed that it was a cathedral and a paleo-Christian baptistery courting from the fifth century.e century, with two bell molds and round thirty burials.
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https://www.lemonde.fr/politique/article/2025/11/26/a-vence-des-fouilles-archeologiques-au-c-ur-de-la-campagne-pour-les-municipales_6654912_823448.html