Nancy. The police want to preserve their social space, a place in danger of extinction

House of happiness. » The sign is located above the Coser Zinc Room, a room with about sixty seats and located on the ground floor of the police headquarters on Boulevard Lobau, in Nancy. The place is fairly comfortable, well furnished and equipped and offers modern decor.

This social space is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., and offers police officers the opportunity to take a break for coffee and croissants or have lunch there. With sandwiches, drinks or “home-made” meals for around €7, prepared and served on site by those who keep this trade union entity founded in 1974 alive.

Christmas tree, Halloween menu, New Year’s buffet…

They are all volunteers (except for the full-time employee who receives a salary from the association) and invest more than necessary to ensure Coser’s life.

If you eat well there according to some of the regulars, the structure also organizes and funds with its own money events such as a Christmas tree (with gifts distributed to the children of employees), an Easter and chocolate feast, a special Halloween meal, a New Year buffet…

But since the Covid crisis, the Coser Centre, which is also open to police officers from outside police headquarters, has recorded a clear decline in attendance, unrelated to the quality of services provided. As in a society that tends to be more inward-looking than in the past, the police also face this observation.

Like everyone else, civil servants are not immune from the flames of inflation either, even if they benefit from the subsidy provided by the provinces (in the form of a yellow ticket of 1.53 euros per working day that can be claimed at Koser or some companies).

The fact remains that over the past year, these tickets have allowed them, through an agreement with Nancy CHRU, to purchase a take-away meal from the adjacent St. Julian’s Hospital restaurant. In the amount of 3 euros. And to come and consume it in Coser infrastructures. Ruthless competition.

“A precious place that volunteers keep at arm’s length.”

“The decline in attendance puts the association in financial jeopardy,” notes David Didier, provincial delegate for the Unité-SGP-Police-FO union. With very tangible consequences already this year, although Koser benefits from the support of the Director of the Public Security Department. The traditional Christmas party will not take place and will be replaced by a €30 gift card supported by the prefecture.

What is the place of social connections in all this? If it is meant to nourish bodies, then Kozer also nourishes souls. Whether they are in pain or not.

“It is a place of abandon, a crossroads between services, a space of exchanges,” emphasizes David Didier. “We talk about work, obviously, but not only that. “Then, when you return from a difficult intervention, the place acts as a decompression chamber between colleagues,” says the union representative, determined not to watch the association slowly fade away. “It is a valuable place.” , volunteers are keeping it at a distance, and we have to act while there is still time. »

He knocks on the door of the Ministry of Interior

In addition to calling for the “remobilization” of the workforce, the departmental delegate of the Unité-SGP-Police-FO, “eager to sustain” Coser, will seek “the solidarity of various actors”, whether institutional or not, in order to obtain Funds and subsidies necessary to continue the work of the association, which is legally capable of receiving this assistance.

Starting from within, by knocking on the doors of the Ministry of Interior and the General Directorate of the National Police, “in the context of combating psychological and social risks.”

A place of co-living par excellence, Coser, unlike a vending machine for drinks or processed meals, is it not a strong bond that contributes to the well-being of Nancy’s police officers?

Contact Coser, Nancy Police Headquarters: [email protected]