about thirty public swimming pools closed suddenly on Monday
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Very energy-intensive, these establishments have seen their costs explode in recent months. The mayors concerned are angry.
Faced with rising energy prices, which are hitting all aspects of daily life such as public services, swimming pools are also having to tighten their belts. This Monday, the company Vert Marine, which operates dozens of swimming pools in France on behalf of local authorities, announced the closure of several establishments, believing that it could no longer cope with soaring bills. The Vert Marine company had to close.for a temporary period“a third of its establishments and has placed”partially unemployed staff“, she said in a press release sent to AFP.
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The energy bill of this public service delegate has gone from “15 to 100 million euros“, that is “the company’s total annual turnover“. The company, which has been in discussions with communities since June, has not been able to find a solution at this stage, she told AFP. She says she does not want to multiply prices by three. She calls it “to local and governmental authorities in order to take the necessary and unprecedented decisions to return to bearable energy costs and to allow public service obligations to be assumed, and in the first place learning to swim, particularly in schools“, explains this company which has 2000 employees.
Very energy-intensive, these aquatic establishments have seen their costs explode in recent months. According to Urban France, which brings together the metropolises and large cities of France, of the 4,000 aquatic complexes in France, 10% are managed by public service delegation. “In general, the energy bill of metropolitan areas has doubled, or even more“, we say. In addition, “60% of public swimming pools are over 30 years old, and have a high consumption in terms of water, ventilation, equipment, insulation, showers… They are extremely expensive“, adds the same source.
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angry mayors
Vert Marine manages equipment in different municipalities, including Bar-sur-Aube, Mantes-la-Jolie, Saint-Martin-de-Ré, Épinay-sur-Seine or Béthune, Cassis, Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, Alfortville and Granville . In the latter town, the town hall,presented with a fait accompli“, tells the Figaro the holding of a crisis meeting to deal with the closure of the L’Hippocampe center, for which Vert Marine is a public service delegate.
Questioned, the mayor of Bourg-de-Péage, Nathalie Nieson, is annoyed by “somewhat brutal methods of Vert Marine“. The aquatic center of his municipality, Diabolo, is managed by Vert Marine for the agglomeration. Closed for maintenance, it was to reopen on Monday and it had communicated its recovery times.last Thursday“says our interlocutor. “On Friday, we heard that Vert Marine swimming pools were closing in France, but we had no feedback. We deduced that it was not relevant, but we intended to discuss it with them on Monday“, she specifies.
“The president of the agglomeration and I were very surprised to learn by a simple email, at the same time as the users, that Vert Marine […] closed» the Diabolo aquatic center, this Monday, declared the mayor. Denouncing a “a bit cavalier“, the chosen one says to herself”a bit in shock» and regrets the lack of consultation on the part of the company. On the background, “this kind of decision is perhaps a harbinger of others that will surely arrive in the weeks and months to come“Warns the city councilor, who agrees that the energy crisis, in essence, affects all players. But, on the form, Nathalie Nieson is surprised to have been warned at the last moment, “unilaterally“.
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Vert Marine’s decision will put the inhabitants of Bourg-de-Péage in difficulty, worries the elected official, who also points out that other establishments managed by other delegates have not taken the same decision as Vert Marine. . “We could have considered other solutions.“Like lowering the temperature of the water or limiting the opening hours, she suggests.
Vice-president of the Association of small towns in France and mayor of Nogent-le-Rotrou, Harold Huwart also indicates that he was warned at the last moment, “Saturday morning, for a non-reopening Saturday noon“. “It’s a totally hasty decision, without any notice, any justification, and with instructions to the staff not to communicate with us. […]. We have a contract that protected us on the prices of heating and electricity, and it is this that Vert Marine has decided to suspend“, annoys the elected official, who accuses the company of having”decided to subscribe [ses] obligations“. The mayor therefore seized the city lawyer. Contacted by us, Vert Marine has not yet come back to us.
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