2023-05-28 06:00:51
Sparkling under the sun, the slide meanders into a pool of turquoise waters. A few steps away, a group in bathing suits tramples to the rhythm of thunderous disco music on the edge of a large swimming pool. Paul Bessoles embraces the scene with his clear gaze. “We have been investing in this type of infrastructure for fifty years, explains the manager of Le Dauphin campsite, pointing to the pools. We have done everything to satisfy the clientele and, overnight, people would like us to draw a line under it. »
In Argelès-sur-Mer (Pyrénées-Orientales), since the drought affects the department, tourism has been shaken to its foundations. In this municipality which concentrates the largest number of campsites in Europe, 52 in total, and where 70% of them have swimming pools, these emblems are singled out.
“Farmers, elected officials, everyone turns us on”worries Brice Sannac, departmental president of the Union of trades and hotel industries. “Some even call for the establishment of tourist quotas”he notes, while in the heart of summer, in certain places on the Catalan coast, the population is at least multiplied by ten.
Several prefectural decrees have been published – at the level of “enhanced alert” at the end of February, then of “crisis” on May 10 –, imposing on everyone the same restrictions on watering and washing cars, for example. The only exception is public swimming pools, which can always be filled. This does not fail to exacerbate competition between sectors of activity, sometimes in a deleterious climate.
Faced with the emergency, the department’s campsite managers have undertaken to reduce their water consumption by 30% over the season. How ? By limiting watering as much as possible, by reusing the water used to wash swimming pool filters, by renewing footbaths less or by closing showers near swimming pools. Establishments also provide quotes to equip themselves with tarpaulins to reduce evaporation from pools. Hotels are removing bathtub plugs to prevent guests from taking baths. The fear being that, beyond the current decree, additional measures could be taken and that they include, this time, collective swimming pools.
A heresy, claim the professionals, highlighting the thousands of jobs in the sector, not to mention that camping, popular tourism, chosen by one in two French people, remains crucial in this period of inflation. “The swimming pool in campsites is a strong demand. It’s the image of the holidays, explains Cyril Urios, secretary general of the National Federation of Outdoor Hotels (FNHPA) South. And then it consumes less water than private pools. We have millions of customers. »
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