The 33rd Unit Jacques Mayol Haute-Meuse sea scouts made an unusual discovery whilst on a routine diving exercise last weekend. They spotted a strange passage at the height of the Élysette, which is the seat of the Presidency of the Walloon government, between the pedestrian footbridge called “Enjambée” and the neighboring bridge. They reported it to the Namur firefighters who then dived with cameras and brought back images of an enigmatic corridor of several tens of meters that seemed to have been abandoned.
The river police, under the direction of Commissioner Cousteau, conducted a rapid investigation that revealed an ambitious project for a secret underwater passage linking the Élysette to the Walloon Parliament. The project would have allowed ministers and deputies to discreetly move from one place to another without attracting the attention of journalists, demonstrators, activists, or beggars. The construction date of the project is apparently late summer, and it had received the discreet approval of the Walloon Minister-President Elio Di Rupo and that of the Bureau of the Walloon Parliament for a starting budget of €500,000.
The project was being carried out in secrecy under the direction of the clerk, and the work was entrusted to the firm TransManche, which built the Channel Tunnel. The work of this underwater passage was well underway, and about thirty meters had already been dug when the scandal surrounding the clerk of the Walloon Parliament grew to such an extent that it was deemed preferable to stop everything in the fall of 2022. As a precautionary measure, the site was swallowed up, and the Mosan fish buffet ordered by the clerk for the inauguration had to be cancelled.
The shuttle between Élysette and the Walloon Parliament will continue to operate on the surface. Even if some now dream of a chairlift that would link these two prestigious places of power and good management of the daily life of the Walloons via an elegant cable and in the air.
It was during a routine diving exercise that the sea scouts of the 33rd Unit Jacques Mayol Haute-Meuse made a strange discovery last weekend.
Under the surface of the river, they have indeed spotted a strange passage at the height of the Élysette, seat of the Presidency of the Walloon government, between the pedestrian footbridge called “Enjambée” and the neighboring bridge.
They reported the oddity to the Namur firefighters who in turn dived with cameras and brought back astonishing images of an enigmatic corridor of several tens of meters, dug at the bottom of the river and which seemed to have been abandoned.
A river police investigation
A rapid investigation by the river police, under the direction of Commissioner Cousteau, revealed an ambitious project for a secret underwater passage that would have linked the Élysette to the Walloon Parliament. And allowed the ministers on one side, the deputies on the opposite bank to go discreetly from one place to another, without the risk of meeting journalists, demonstrators, climate activists or beggars (very numerous in Namur).
When is the construction date? Apparently late summer. In mid-September there appeared in the bucolic gardens of the Élysette a rather sad marquee which was led to believe that it was to house the traditional reception of the Fêtes de Wallonie.
In reality, it was used to hide the drilling of a well to give access to the entrance to the underwater corridor envisaged on the model of the now famous “tunnel of the Walloon deputies” (which connects the “Confluence” car park and the Walloon Parliament ).
Work carried out in the greatest secrecy under the direction of the clerk.
The project had received the discreet approval of the Walloon Minister-President Elio Di Rupo and that of the Bureau of the Walloon Parliament for a starting budget of €500,000 for which, as usual, possible overruns had been planned for a final slate valued at 75 million euros, the important thing being that the deputies of the PTB do not notice anything.
Thirty meters already dug
Entrusted to the firm TransManche, which built the Channel Tunnel, the work of this underwater passage was well underway (about thirty meters already dug) when in the fall of 2022, the scandal surrounding the clerk of the Walloon Parliament has grown to such an extent that it was deemed preferable to stop everything.
As a precautionary measure, it was decided to swallow up the site and also to cancel the Mosan fish buffet ordered by the clerk and planned for the inauguration (hoped for in 2025).
The shuttle between Élysette and the Walloon Parliament will therefore continue to operate on the surface. Even if some now dream of a chairlift that would link these two prestigious places of power and good management of the daily life of the Walloons via an elegant cable and in the air.
The discovery of an abandoned underwater corridor linking the Élysette to the Walloon Parliament has shed light on a scandalous project that was in the making. The ambitious plan, carried out by the firm TransManche, was meant to give politicians a discreet route of passage to avoid the public eye. While the project had received approval from high-ranking officials, the scandal surrounding the clerk of the Walloon Parliament brought it to a grinding halt. Despite the cancellation of the Mosan fish buffet ordered by the clerk and planned for the inauguration, the shuttle between Élysette and the Walloon Parliament will continue to operate on the surface for now. Perhaps a chairlift connecting these two places of power and management will be explored in the future. Regardless, this discovery has exposed the clandestine maneuvers of those in power and reminds us to remain vigilant of their actions.