In France and the government of President Emmanuel Macron is reportedly set to consider a provision that would allow smaller tourist-friendly towns and cities such as Sedan to host a casino.
According to a report from G3Newswire, France is already home to over 200 casinos operated by such local giants as Groupe Lucien Barriere, Joa Groupe and Groupe Partouche. However, the source explained that current federal legislation stipulates that such gambling-friendly venues may only be located in seaside resorts, spa towns or cities with a population of over 500,000.
Enduring effort:
National Assembly legislator Jean-Luc Warsmann (pictured) has now purportedly detailed that his nation’s Interior Ministry is to consider a report that could well see these geographic requirements expanded to include any community with a wider regional population of over 100,000. The 55-year-old politician represents the area around Sedan and has reportedly been working for over 15 years in partnership with local mayor Didier Herbillion in hopes of being able to bring a casino to the Ardennes town of approximately 16,500 people.
Plush project:
Sedan lies alongside the banks of the River Meuse only 
about eight miles from France’s border with Belgium and serves as the administrative center of a region that is home to about 275,000 people. Warsmann reportedly pronounced that the community’s leadership drew up plans in February of 2019 that would see a casino brought to its 15th Century castle, the seven-story Chateau de Sedan, as part of a wider campaign to attract tourists from across Europe.
Analogous attempt:
Warsmann reportedly moreover asserted that the mayor of the similarly-diminutive town of Saumur, Jackie Goulet, met with Macron in 2019 so as to promote a plan that would allow this Loire Valley community to host a casino. The legislator purportedly declared that the 43-year-old President reacted favorably to this suggestion, which subsequently prompted the municipality to establish a delegation tasked with exploring the matter further.
Warsmann reportedly declared…
“A lot of Ardennais play at casinos in Belgium because there is no casino in our department. I insist on defending France’s fiscal interests. In addition, a casino is a lever of attraction for the territories.”