Strasbourg. This week's debrief: municipal elections, the stinging poll, the incinerator, the smoking metropolis

The Ifop poll reshuffles the cards. Six months before the first round of municipal elections, assuming the right and center go their separate ways, Catherine Trautmann (PS) comes out on top with 25% of voting intentions, closely followed by Jean-Philippe Vetter (24%), LR candidate. Outgoing mayor Jeanne Barseghian (EELV-PCF) is lagging behind with 17%. Emmanuel Fernandes (LFI) is in ambush at 13%, Virginie Joron (RN) 11%. Pierre Jakubowicz (Horizons-MoDem, 6%) and Nicolas Matt (Renaissance, 4%) bring up the rear. This is the result of a first Ifop poll released this Friday , conducted at the request of Vetter's Aimer Strasbourg movement, conducted from August 29 to September 4 among 614 registered voters. This is excellent news for Trautmann in particular and the left in general, very good news for Vetter and bad news for Barseghian. For the rest, in a city where the oppositions have learned to work together, the game of alliances could redistribute the cards.

Sénerval in the Eurometropolis's crosshairs. A new episode in the incinerator saga, this time involving cheating. Sénerval, the managing company, is suspected of having understated the discharges from the Rohrschollen power plant, which has already been singled out for its dioxin emissions.

During an inspection on July 11, the device responsible for sampling fumes—essential for measuring the content of dioxins and furans, toxic and potentially carcinogenic substances—had been on standby for more than 19 hours, according to a report from the Regional Directorate for the Environment, Planning, and Housing (Dreal) published in mid-July. In other words, the pollution emitted during this period was not recorded. The Dreal also points out that annual inspections of the measuring devices were not carried out in 2023 and 2024, contrary to regulations.

However, the incinerator already has a heavy liability: several threshold exceedances have been noted in recent years, leading to a formal notice and a financial penalty of nearly €500,000 in 2024. Even if improvements have appeared in the readings since last autumn, the Dreal notes that certain sampling devices have been undersized, risking underestimating the actual pollution.

Faced with this observation, the prefecture has formally ordered Sénerval to regularize its situation by September 11. The Eurometropolis, owner of the factory, drove the point home on September 3 by demanding "clear and substantiated explanations" and reiterating the need for total transparency towards residents and the supervisory authority.

The affair has rekindled the debate over the future of this aging incinerator , often accused of being a financial drain. More than €200 million has already been invested to upgrade it between 2016 and 2019, but further modernization work is not expected until 2026. The public service delegation granted to Sénerval runs until 2030, but its renewal is now far from certain. The stakes are crucial: the incinerator processes 200,000 tons of household waste each year and remains the most active in the Grand Est region.

Damaged decor and a degraded facade: two construction sites in sight at the Kammerzell house. With almost 750 years on the clock, the Kammerzell house, a Renaissance jewel backing onto the cathedral, is suffering in its flesh. On the sculpted 15th ^- century facade, elements have recently disintegrated, forcing the Œuvre Notre-Dame to install protective nets to protect the building (and the passersby below). The OND, owner of the walls, is preparing a restoration project scheduled for 2026 , the time to find the company and especially the right time slot, between summer tourist flows and the Christmas market.

Inside, a fresco by Léo Schnug (1905) was also damaged: blisters, loss of color, leprous walls. Initially attributed to a toilet leak in the adjoining building, the infiltration clearly has more complex and mysterious causes. Here too, an intervention is planned for 2026 with removal of the original varnish, cleaning and restoration of the erased areas. The OND is financing the operation and is considering preventive protection (plexiglass) to preserve this unique decor in the long term.

The Image Dreamer publishes his first book. Educator by day, street photographer by night, Fabrice Mercier releases SynchroniCité , a collection of his hunts for visual coincidences in the streets of Strasbourg. A playful and poetic look at the city, the fruit of four years of wandering.

The Fischer chimney is finally deconstructed. Weakened since 2023, the old 39-meter chimney of the Fischer brewery in Schiltigheim is disappearing these days. Listed as a historical monument, it is making way for a "memorial work" whose design will be the subject of a call for projects.

39,500 . As part of its extension to Wolfisheim, line F, which underwent a dry run late Tuesday, September 9, has been set a target of 39,500 daily passengers, compared to 29,000 currently. This represents a hoped-for increase of 35%.

Between 5,000 and 10,000 people . That's the number of people who participated in the demonstration on Wednesday, organized as part of the "Block Everything" day of mobilization on September 10. The demonstration, without any major incidents, made for a day that was, all in all, less eventful than expected.