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Port la Nouvelle-"pieds-noirs" and their large trawlers
Port la Nouvelle experienced a new lease of life due to the arrival of the "Pieds-noirs" (Algerian-born Frenchmen) in 1962, most of whom were fishermen with their own trawlers. They revived the fishing port’s activity causing a demographic boom.
Give back to Cesar what belongs to Cesar. The arrival of the Pieds-noirs in 1962 when Algeria gained its independence turned out to be beneficial for the economy of Port la Nouvelle, as the majority of the men were fishermen.
On 30th May 1962 in Algeria, 50 fishermen prepared their trawlers for the crossing that would take them away forever from the land where they were born. On 2nd June of the same year in France, the engineer of the government's civil engineering department of the Narbonne district wrote to the Algiers maritime authorities, insisting on the benefit of a part of these fishermen arriving in Port la Nouvelle.
Thus, the first three trawlers arrived on 16th June, from Bou Haroun, a small fishing port to the west of Algiers. In fact, around twenty trawlers were expected as well as a hundred or so families. How many Pieds-noirs settled in the town in 1962? Opinions vary: some sources say 900, others 500. In 1962, the population of Port la Nouvelle rose to 2,500. Even an addition of only 500 people makes a difference to people’s habits and the human landscape. The official figures indicate that the total population went from 2,479 people in 1962 to 3,622 in 1964, i.e. 1,143 more residents in just two years. As regards the port, the records of the Maritime and Navigation Department of Languedoc-Roussillon show 22 trawlers in the port in 1963.
Until this year 1962, fishing at Port la Nouvelle was done in the traditional way with small boats. There were 56 boats of less than ten tons in 1960, and the catch was sold directly to the consumers.
But with the arrival of the Pieds-noirs and their trawlers, the canal was soon saturated. The boats were moored as best they could, alongside each other. Those of the Pieds-noirs were much bigger than the local fishing boats, as illustrated by the tonnages: 29 tons for the Annie-Girard and 42 tons for the Angela Bou or the Marc-Eric.
A decision needed to be made quickly, leading to the creation of a real fishing port, in several stages and with two players. First of all, the port manager defined the project for fitting temporary facilities, including the creation of ten floating pontoons, on the banks of a canal to be located between the commercial dock and the CD 703 bridge. The state authorities approved the project on 14th August 1962 despite having only received it on 31st July. The speed with which this project was dealt with deserves to be highlighted. Needs must, after all.
Secondly, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Narbonne planned the creation of a fishing port, including a sheltered dock with a 115 m opening for a surface area of 0.9 ha, a fish auction, compartments for whole-sale sea-fish merchants, workshops for the nets and a boat launching ramp. For all of these buildings, the CCI required the extension by 150,000 sqm of its acquisition of open area. The state authorities approved this request on 10th May 1963, and all of the facilities were up and running from 1965.
The large numbers of this population led to an urgent need for new accommodation. The extension of the town altered the landscape definitively: housing estates, blocks of low-rent housing, schools, social equipment. For example, during the decisions of 12th September 1962 and 7th January 1963, the town council decided to build 100 houses between Le Canelet and the Sigean lake for the repatriated fishermen and their families, who moved into them in 1964. A brand new fishing port, new districts… the current town of Port la Nouvelle owes a lot to the arrival of the repatriated Frenchmen from Algeria.
