France/Des habitants d'une commune du nord de la Mayenne se mobilisent pour sauver leur piscine
The municipal swimming pool has been closed since 2022: they are protesting for work to be carried out and for it to be reopened. In Pré-en-Pail, a small rural commune in northern Mayenne, the absence of a swimming pool is penalizing secondary school pupils and discouraging new residents from moving in.
With banners, buoys and snorkels, the demonstrators didn't hesitate to get wet in the literal sense of the word to defend their swimming pool, as it was pouring rain in Pré-en-Pail on Saturday April 27. This small commune is located in the north of the Mayenne department, not far from Alençon in the Orne department.
Around a hundred demonstrators turned out in spite of the rain on this Saturday morning to demand the reopening of their municipal open-air swimming pool. The facility has been closed since 2022 due to water leaks.
"Save the pool! Save the pool!
Behind this slogan, residents, local councillors and shopkeepers are all campaigning for the facility to be reopened as soon as possible.
Take Vanessa, a mother of two daughters aged 11 and 16, for example, who misses this facility.
"I live in the countryside and we miss this pool," she explains.
"In the summer, when we don't go away much, it gives us a semblance of a vacation," adds Vanessa.
We need this space to play and laugh. To hear children diving into the water. It's a place that brings a pool together, as you can see today, it's full of people.
Vanessa
a demonstrator
Learning to swim at half-mast
To teach her children to swim, this other resident had to go to a pool 15 km away.
Problem: the classes are full at the moment.
She's on a waiting list.
"I'd like them to know how to swim for this summer, so I can relax for the vacations," explains Elodie.
"Unfortunately, we're on the waiting list. It's been a month and a half, and we still haven't heard anything" she adds.
The facility, owned by the Communauté de Communes du Mont des Avaloirs, boasts an outdoor pool that is a delight for residents of the small commune of 2295 inhabitants.
But the cost of the work is estimated at several million euros, which is holding back the Communauté de Communes.
For his part, the mayor of Pré-en-Fail-Saint-Samson has launched a consultation in April 2024 to find out whether residents are for or against the work.
The Pré-en-Fail town hall called for mobilization in favor of reopening the outdoor swimming pool, arguing in particular that it was an important place of conviviality in the commune.
On the town hall's Facebook page, numerous comments were made in this vein.
A local resident wrote: "Before the works, this pool was always full in summer, especially on Sundays. It was the only entertainment offered to young people, with a friendly welcome, lawns and solarium."
Another argument put forward: schoolchildren who have compulsory swimming lessons now have to travel 30 km to get to the nearest pool, in the commune of Villaines-la-Juhel.
Finally, according to the protesters, the absence of such a facility would be a hindrance to attracting new residents, and would penalize second-home owners who come to spend their summer vacations here.
For example, on the commune's Facebook page, this resident expresses her wish for the facility to reopen: "yes we must try and get the pool reopened".
No political decision
All eyes are on the communauté de communes, which manages the pool.
Some municipal councillors accuse it of inaction.
Nothing has been done. There were discussions in the building committee about whether to repair the pool, build a new one, or install an inflatable summer pool, but no decision was taken.
Loïc Duplaine
deputy mayor of Pré-en-Pail-Saint-Samson
"No study has been carried out yet, and we don't have any figures," adds the town councillor bitterly.
For its part, the community of communes claims to have carried out two studies to repair the leaks.
Estimated cost: three million euros.
An amount deemed too high by the community's president, whom we contacted.
The pool's fate will be decided at a community council meeting in September.
Source: france3-regions.francetvinfo.fr/
