"Symbolic", "natural", "necessary" - each elected official has his or her own way of describing the coming together of the two conurbation communities. But for Pierre Cuny, president of Thionville-Portes de France and mayor of Thionville, and Michel Liebgott, president of CA Val de Fensch and mayor of Fameck, there is no doubt that the new community, which will have a population of nearly 160,000, will carry much more weight in regional, national and cross-border debates.
Before the debates, the findings. For Pierre Cuny, a right-wing liberal, and for Michel Liebgott, also a liberal but more to the left, the borders drawn by politicians no longer exist in the region. "In the day-to-day life of the people who live in our area, the merger has been in place for a long time. We move from one community to the other without any urban break. Just as many people from the two conurbations go to work in the other every day. The catchment area is already the same," explains Michel Liebgott.
The Portes de France CA has its headquarters in Thionville, while the Val de Fensch CA has its headquarters in Hayange. (Map: CAPFT)
The mayor of Thionville, Pierre Cuny, outlines some of the issues at stake: "We are facing major regional challenges, not least because of our geographical position: problems of mobility, ecological transition and the redevelopment of brownfield sites, all of which require us to work together. We share the same skills, the same territorial issues and the same problems of territorial management.
The two areas also have another feature in common: a growing number of cross-border commuters. According to INSEE data, the ratio of jobs to employed people in the Portes de France-Thionville and Val de Fensch conurbation communities is the highest in Northern Lorraine, at 88 and 70 jobs respectively for every 100 employed people.
When you're a local authority with 160,000 inhabitants, you're more likely to be heard.
"On major issues such as the metropolitan regional express service, it's clear that when you're a local authority with 160,000 inhabitants, you're more easily heard, as you are on health and university issues. It's a fact that has to do with the balance of power between local authorities. We are going to create a balance of power", adds Michel Liebgott.
The merger should also enable us to "bring our weight to bear in the debate, particularly on borders, but also to bring our weight to bear on French territory by joining forces. I think it's important that a local authority with a population of 160,000 is now organised for discussions, for example with Prosud on the Luxembourg side", comments Pierre Cuny, who is likely to be the future chairman of the new conurbation, according to his counterpart Michel Liebgott.
According to the mayor of Fameck, the priorities in terms of cross-border cooperation are theand achieving a new way of working with Luxembourg on health issues. Pierre Cuny adds, in addition to the issues : "We want to promote ambitious projects, such as a Thionville-Esch connection via the Bus à haut niveau de service (BHNS), and make proposals for rail mobility, even though this is the responsibility of the Region. Another issue is housing, given the demographic situation and the scarcity of land in Luxembourg.
Communes, agglo, PMF, CIG... what else?
However, most of the issues mentioned by the two elected representatives are already being discussed within the framework of the France-Luxembourg Intergovernmental Commission (CIG), the result of a Franco-Luxembourg agreement signed in 2010 to strengthen cross-border cooperation. It should not be confused with the Pôle métropolitain frontalier, which is also a cross-border cooperation area, created at the beginning of 2019. The latter brings together eight inter-municipalities in Moselle and Meurthe-et-Moselle (338,000 inhabitants) structured around the urban centres of Thionville and Longwy, as well as the southern fringe of the mainly Luxembourg centre of Kayl-Ottange. The former operates at a state level, while the latter - which also has a seat on the CIG - is more limited to a regional dimension, albeit a cross-border one.
"The strength we have today through the PMF also depends on the existence of a large conurbation. The objective would be for this large conurbation to also exist as such, at the level of the IGC, and for it not just to have deputies and prefects. We can't solve the problems we have here from Paris. The Luxembourg government is familiar with these problems, Parisians a little less so", explains Michel Liebgott, who has himself sat on the CIG as an MP in the past.
With this merger, the two conurbations are strengthening their common position within the PMF. But, according to Pierre Cuny, this does not mean adding "another layer" to the "millefeuille". "On the contrary, we're simplifying things. Within the PMF, there will now be a larger conurbation, which will have more weight and will be a more influential partner. This will enable us to structure projects and make progress in the discussions we want to have with our Luxembourg colleagues. We will now have a clear idea of what we want for our region.
What's more, "there's nothing to say that this new conurbation won't extend as far as certain municipalities on the border. I think it will one day, not for the moment, but one day", says Michel Liebgott. The Pays haut - Val d'Alzette and Cattenom et environs intermunicipalities are closer to the Luxembourg border. The chairman of the latter, Michel Paquet, told the weekly La Semaine last summer: "I just hope that this merger will bring something positive to the people who live here and that it is not just a political ploy to create a counterpart to Metz.
A map of the Thionville arrondissement, which includes the new large conurbation, but also the Cattenom CC and the Pays Haut Val d'Alzette CC, which are geographically closer to the border. (Map: Moselle Prefecture)
On1 December 2025, the elected representatives will elect the new council, which will have a president and 15 vice-presidents. In total, the new community should have 80 elected members, compared with almost 100 today with the two conurbations. The new council will be in place from1 January 2026, and will be based in Yutz, in the former CCI building recently acquired by the Portes de France-Thionville CA. As soon as it is up and running, the new council will have to submit itself to the people's choice, as 2026 will be a municipal election year in France. It is only after this vote that the territorial project, which is now being drafted, will be definitively voted on and adopted.