This week, the Mouvement Réformateur visits Herve, the emblematic town of the plateau that bears its name, where the dynamism of the villages, agriculture, businesses and heritage shape a particularly strong local identity. Having led the town since 2017, Marc Drouguet strengthened his position in the 2024 local elections: his list won 53.4% of the vote and retained an absolute majority of 14 out of 25 seats. This confidence allows the majority to continue several projects aimed at preparing for the future: the redevelopment of the Chapelier site, reflection on municipal development and mobility, the revitalisation of Battice, the renovation of sports facilities, and the promotion of the Fort of Battice and Herve's heritage.
Marc, you became Mayor in 2017, after previously serving as first alderman, before being confirmed by voters in 2018 and again in 2024. What have you learnt over these years leading Herve, and what vision do you want to bring to this new term to keep the town ambitious, close to its residents and attentive to each of its village communities?
It is above all an honour to be a representative of the Town of Herve and to be able to represent it as Mayor. Despite the experience gained over the years, we continue to learn every day through contact with the people of Herve and to discover all the riches of our municipality and its residents.
It is for them that we work every day to develop positive and ambitious projects. Meetings with citizens and our presence on the ground are essential: they allow us to remain attentive to their needs and motivate us to move our town forward.
But to bring great projects to life and carry them out effectively, teamwork is essential. Our group on the Municipal Council, the College, but also all municipal staff must be able to work in a climate of trust. Everyone must feel comfortable in their role and be aware of the contribution they can make to the projects we champion for Herve: the ongoing renovation of our municipal infrastructure (the complete refurbishment of the Herve swimming pool and athletics track, the renovation and extension of our care home in the town centre…).
It is together, with everyone's skills and commitment, that we can move faster and, above all, further.
Herve is currently engaged in several structuring reflections, notably around the Municipal Development Scheme, the Chapelier site in the centre of Herve, the Masterplan in the centre of Battice, and soft links between the villages and the town centre. How do you reconcile the necessary creation of housing, support for economic and commercial activity, mobility and the preservation of the living environment that makes up the strength of the Pays de Herve?
It is essential to have a long-term vision for our municipality, an ambitious vision that allows us to develop projects that truly meet the needs of citizens and contribute to good living in Herve.
We are fortunate to have numerous services, particularly in our two main centres. Herve is a real service hub, including a particularly important secondary school welcoming over 3,000 pupils, a substantial sports complex (swimming pool, athletics track, sports halls, football pitches…), as well as local shops and restaurants.
Our aim is for these facilities and services to benefit all residents of the municipality, including those in our villages. This is achieved in part through the development of active mobility to better connect the villages, primary schools and the centres of our municipality.
This long-term thinking is also reflected in the Municipal Development Scheme that we are currently finalising. It should allow us to define a genuine guiding framework for the future development of our territory, taking into account all the specific features of Herve.
Because Herve is both a service centre and a deeply rural municipality. We must preserve what makes up its identity: its hedgerow landscapes, sunken lanes, hedges and fruit trees, while maintaining dynamic economic activity by offering jobs close to the various economic areas in Herve, Battice and Chaineux, as well as through its agriculture. The challenge is to find this balance between urban/rural, work/leisure and to preserve it over the long term.
The town can also count on a vibrant community life, sports clubs, local producers and heritage that fully contributes to its appeal: a particularly symbolic year in 2026, marked by the 750th anniversary of the Town of Herve, the 250th anniversary of the Collège Royal Marie-Thérèse, the Saint-Jean-Baptiste church whose 400th anniversary was celebrated in 2025, and the 30th anniversary of the PDO status of Herve cheese. How do you want to mobilise all these active forces around these anniversaries to make it a unifying moment, but also a starting point to durably strengthen Herve's cultural, tourist and economic influence?
Dynamism and friendliness are truly part of our municipality's identity. This year, 2026, is particularly symbolic as several important anniversaries coincide: the 750th anniversary of the Town of Herve, the 400th anniversary of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste church, the 250th anniversary of the Collège Royal Marie-Thérèse, and the 30th anniversary of the Protected Designation of Origin for Herve cheese.
We therefore wanted to make this exceptional year a true moment of togetherness, with numerous events organised in the centre of Herve and the mobilisation of many associations and active forces of our municipality.
Throughout the year, several initiatives highlight these anniversaries. Notably, the Del Céqwemme procession, which received particular emphasis this year, as well as the work of the non-profit ARVIA, which showcases our history through photographs and images from the past. Our shopkeepers and numerous associations, particularly cultural ones (Centre Hervien d'Animation Culturelle, the Amis du Bon Cœur…) also actively take part in this dynamic.
All these initiatives allow the people of Herve to come together and share the conviviality that characterises us, but also allow those less familiar with our municipality to discover it from a different perspective.
We are proud to be from Herve, and we want to celebrate that pride together, while making our town's positive and dynamic image known and recognised beyond its borders.
This year, 2026, was also marked by the inauguration of a project that spanned several terms of office: our panoramic tower. It highlights our heritage and offers, among other things, a privileged view over the Plateau of Herve and surrounding area. The Fort of Battice, an important symbol of the duty to remember, will thus be highlighted for its historic role during the Second World War.
Finally, annual events reach beyond our borders, bringing together tens of thousands of people in a spirit of conviviality. The Easter Monday Cavalcade and the Battice/Herve Agricultural Fair carry on our heritage and traditions.