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Natural disaster, nuclear disaster, ecological or social crisis ... Faced with increasingly important risks, survivalists train for survival. The second edition of the Survival Expo, which is held from 22 to 24 March in Paris, presents concrete solutions to gain autonomy through ecological solutions. The challenge is also to fight against the caricature of the survivalist holed up in his bunker, armed to the teeth.
Water purifiers, survival training, bulletproof vests or electric generators. Back to nature for some, disaster preparedness for others, survival in all its aspects is presented this weekend at the Survival Expo at the Paris Event Center, Porte de la Villette.
The objective of this Salon of Survival "unique in Europe": learn to be more autonomous in everyday life and reconnect with nature to be less vulnerable in case of disaster.
For this second edition, the organizers saw big: a space of more than 8,000 m2, more than 150 exhibitors from 16 countries, fifteen events and training. Twenty speakers are also invited to discuss topics during these three days, such as surviving in a hostile environment, or learning to recognize wild edible plants.
Risk prevention and autonomy
Five main themes are discussed: "survival and outdoor", "food and energy autonomy", "water management", "health, safety and relief", and "tactical defense".
" Our approach is to be pragmatic, to analyze the risks according to the environment: generators can be useful in case of heavy snowfall, if you are without electricity; a water purifier for water drawn from a potentially contaminated source, if there are factories to your home. It means knowing how to equip oneself with the systems or products necessary to be autonomous, "explains Clément Champault, one of the organizers of the show.
" We are very sensitive to ecological considerations. We know that we live in a world that will soon shelter 10 billion people with limited resources, that we are not necessarily in a viable system. Survivalism is an opportunity to develop a lifestyle based on self-reliance, "says Clément Champault.
" Dediabolize " survivalism
The idea defended at the Survival Expo: do not talk about risk without a concrete solution, to avoid speeches deemed anxiety. Because one of the main issues of this show is also to give a "positive" view of survivalism, too often caricatured in the eyes of its members.
" Survivalism suffers from a bad image, because the American movement has taken the lead. We would like to impose French-style survivalism on the whole of Europe, "explains Clément Champault. " American-style survivalism is much more anxiety-provoking. They do not have the same relationship to weapons. And Hollywood's image of the survivalist buried in his bunker, capable of triggering a disaster himself to prove himself capable of survival, only reinforces that. "
Here, there is no question of invasion of zombies or meteor shower. This survivability focuses on the prevention of probable risks, while advocating environmentally friendly solutions, such as the use of renewable energies.
Last year, the Survival Expo had made more than 8,000 entries. The organizers hope more than 12,000 visitors for this second edition.