In France, around thirty swimming pools closed because of energy prices

Published on: 06/09/2022 – 10:34 Claiming to be unable to cope with the explosion in the energy bill, the company Vert Marine has closed around thirty swimming pools and appealed to the authorities. Swimming pools closed in Limoges, Granville or even Versailles… Thirty establishments managed by the company Vert Marine closed on Tuesday, September 5, the company claiming that it could not cope with soaring energy prices. establishments are part of the 10% of swimming pools out of 4,000 in France which are not managed directly by the local authorities but by a public service delegate. Depending on the contracts, the company bears the energy costs or leaves them to the community. Often heated by gas, swimming pools are very energy-intensive equipment and bear the full brunt of rising prices. The temporary closure of these thirty establishments, sometimes large aquatic complexes such as Aquapolis in Limoges, is accompanied by unemployment partial staff. Even if since the summer some swimming pools have reduced their time slots, or lowered the water temperature to soften the bill, the announcement without notice on Monday surprised. Tensions with elected officials Thus, the vice-president of the agglomeration of Limoges Fabien Doucet immediately denounced a “brutal, unilateral decision” and considered the possibility of legal action. “The equipment which cost 50 million euros is used by the inhabitants of around twenty municipalities who, overnight, are taken hostage. We find ourselves faced with a fait accompli. It is inadmissible”, continues the elected. Asked by AFP, the company indicated that it had been in discussion with several communities since June but that it had not succeeded at this stage. The energy bill of this public service delegate has gone from “15 to 100 million euros”, or “the entire annual turnover of the company”. And she does not want to multiply the tariffs by three, according to her press release. “We end up with rising energy prices and it is no longer tenable. It has been multiplied by 10. In total, 600 employees out of 2,000 are placed on partial unemployment”, detailed Thierry Chaix, the president of Vert Marine, to AFP. to return to bearable energy costs and allow public service obligations to be met, and first and foremost learning to swim, particularly in schools”, explains Vert Marine, which manages around 90 swimming pools and ice rinks in total. In addition to the discussions with the communities, which are also bent under an overall energy bill sometimes multiplied by two according to France Urbaine, which manages metropolises and large cities, it also calls on the government. This question of swimming pools and ice rinks, aging equipment in France and very energy-intensive, is on the menu of the government’s sports working group on energy sobriety. “With regard to swimming pools and ice rinks, work is carried out in particular with representatives of these players (including Union Sport et Cycle) and local authorities to find solutions to reduce consumption while preserving sporting activity and economic”, had specified together the Ministers of Sports and Energy Transition last week. “Additional measures will be studied in the event of strong tensions on the networks”, they had added. The punchy closure operated by Vert Marine will undoubtedly advance the reflections. According to the France Urbaine association, about 10% of their 108 members, surveyed a few weeks ago, are considering closing swimming pools this winter. The mayor of Bourges, Yann Galut, recently explained to AFP that “we cannot not do anything with our swimming pools”, given the importance of learning to swim. “For the inhabitants, the swimming pool is an essential equipment”, he recalls. The Ministry of Sports has made “knowing how to swim” one of the axes of its policy for several years in order to prevent drowning, knowing also that swimming pools had been put to the test during the Covid.With AFP