As the March 2026 municipal elections approach, Cité Bergère is emerging as one of the emblematic issues of the local debate. This agricultural plot located in the heart of Montpellier crystallizes central issues: urban planning, biodiversity, local democracy, access to land, and choice of city model.

Beyond a simple contested real estate project, Cité Bergère has become a political marker allowing to distinguish the positions and commitments of the various competing lists.

Cité Bergère: A Unique Agricultural Plot in the City Center

Located on Avenue Saint-Lazare, in the Beaux-Arts district, Cité Bergère is the last agricultural plot still in operation in Montpellier's city center. Historically used for family market gardening, it constitutes today:

• a nourishing space;
• a cool island in a city strongly exposed to heatwaves;
• a reservoir of urban biodiversity;
• a rare landscape and social heritage.

Since 2025, a real estate project planning the construction of two buildings on part of the land has sparked a major citizen mobilization.

Structured Citizen Mobilization

Faced with this project, a collective named "Préservons la Cité Bergère" (Let's Preserve Cité Bergère) was formed. It defends the full preservation of the plot and proposes an alternative project: the creation of an urban farm with an agricultural, ecological, and educational vocation, possibly carried by the city or by an associative structure.

A petition launched in the summer of 2025 collected more than 26,000 signatures, testifying to broad local support. The collective then challenged all lists running in the municipal elections, asking them to publicly commit to this issue.

Find up-to-date information on the signatories of the open letter on the collective's website: preservonslacitebergere.fr.
You can also support the initiative by signing the petition on Change.org.

The Position of Outgoing Mayor Michaël Delafosse

To date, Michaël Delafosse, the outgoing mayor (PS), has not made a clear commitment in favor of the total preservation of Cité Bergère.

During debates in the municipal council, the majority:

• rejected a motion from the opposition requesting the preemption of the plot by the City;
• recalled that the Metropolitan PLUi provides for the preservation of about 80% of the land, while maintaining a buildable part.

The mayor mentioned holding discussions with the owners and residents, but without enacting a decision legally guaranteeing the agricultural sustainability of the site. For the citizen collective, this position effectively amounts to letting the real estate project proceed.

Clear Commitments from Several Opposition Lists

Nathalie Oziol (La France Insoumise)

In a video published on social networks, Nathalie Oziol made an explicit commitment:

"With the #FaireMieuxPourMontpellier list, we commit to preserving the Cité Bergère plot against the real estate project that Michaël Delafosse is allowing to happen. This space is a wealth, an agricultural plot in the middle of the city, a common heritage."

This stance clearly places Cité Bergère among the programmatic commitments of the LFI list.

Jean-Louis Roumégas (Printemps montpelliérain – Les Écologistes)

The ecologist list led by Jean-Louis Roumégas also supports the collective's approach. It highlights:

• the preservation of urban agricultural lands;
• the need for legal tools (preemption, zoning change, land protection);
• co-construction with residents.

Printemps montpelliérain indicated that it would sign the commitment proposed by the collective.

Révolution Permanente

The list led by Max Muller has also committed to preserving Cité Bergère and supporting an alternative agricultural project, falling within a logic of rupture with speculative urbanism.

A Still Notable Silence from Some Candidacies

At this stage, no detailed public position has been made public regarding Cité Bergère for:

• Mohed Altrad;
• Isabelle Perrein (list supported by LR, UDI, and Modem).

The collective indicated that it would make public the responses — or lack of response — from the different lists.

An Issue That Goes Beyond Just the Neighborhood

Cité Bergère poses a central political question for Montpellier:

Can we improve the city without sacrificing its last agricultural and natural spaces?

It questions:

• the place of housing vis-à-vis land speculation;
• the capacity of local authorities to preempt and protect land;
• the consistency of discourses on net zero artificialization;
• the reality of local democracy in the face of projects already tied up.

As such, Cité Bergère is much more than a local file: it has become a symbol of the societal choices proposed to the residents of Montpellier in 2026.