• The indoor pools will not reopen on May 19 but will have to wait until June 9.

    And again, their reception capacity will be limited.

  • The northern or open basins reopened in early spring.

    Even in winter for some.

  • The lack is such that the most avid swimmers do not hesitate to cover tens of kilometers every week.

The mercury displays painfully 15 ° C and the thick clouds suggest the imminence of the rain. Not really a time to put on a swimsuit and expose yourself to the wind. But it would take more to discourage Christelle. For the third time in ten days, this Nantes woman has traveled 25 km to swim for about an hour in the outdoor basin of the Divaquatic swimming pool, in Loroux-Bottereau (Loire-Atlantique). “The water is heated to 28 ° C. If you do the lengths, you absolutely do not feel the cold. It feels great. I really needed it. In addition, I find that there were a little less people than usual. "

In recent weeks, it's been the same refrain everywhere in the outdoor swimming pools and Nordic basins of France.

On the contrary, authorized to open indoor swimming pools which will have to wait until June 9 (with a limit of 50%), this atypical equipment is taken by storm.

An unexpected success that prompted several communities to shake up their schedules.

"The offer does not meet the demand"

“Usually we open from the spring break but, this year, given the context and the demand, we tried to welcome the public in January. We did not regret. Attendance is important. We have limited the pool to 60 people and it is often full, ”comments Stéphane Clemot, responsible for the Divaquatic intercommunal space. Even the snow in February did not dampen the heat. “I was a little apprehensive but the feeling of swimming outdoors is ultimately extremely pleasant,” says Séverine. There is much less noise than in an indoor swimming pool, you can feel the air, the rays of the sun. Limit a feeling of vacation. It is a real relaxation for the body. "

In Rennes, 120 km further north, the weather is not known to be better.

But the northern basin of Bréquigny is not empty either.

Since January, around thirty one-hour slots have been offered to the general public every week.

All are full (80 swimmers at a time).

“We welcome around 2,400 users each week,” says Amélie Maura-Régulier, responsible for the swimming pool service at the city of Rennes.

The craze is such that you have to rush to book.

“All the slots for the week go very quickly, in just an hour.

This poses some concerns with servers crashing.

And that creates a lot of frustration for swimmers.

But, unfortunately, the supply does not meet the demand.

"

"Children need to let off steam"

In both establishments, regular swimmers looking for a sporting practice are the most numerous.

The “people with pathologies who need to swim” are there too.

“Three quarters of our customers since January do not live in the area, reports Stéphane Clemot, at Divaquatic.

Many come from the Nantes metropolis where all the swimming pools are closed.

Some even cross the department to come.

"

Olivier has traveled 30 km round trip twice a week for four months.

“It takes a bit of organization, but when you're used to swimming all year round, you don't have much choice.

This basin is very good news.

I find it hard to understand why the swimming pools remain closed.

It is far too long.

It is a chlorinated environment, we have never heard of contamination.

"

Families with children are less numerous.

“There is not much room to splash around and, if you move little, you cool down quickly,” considers a mother.

But they are all the same more and more visible since the arrival of the beautiful spring days.

“Even outdoors, the children are so happy to swim.

The possibilities for playing sports are limited, they need to let off steam, ”observes Anne-Sophie.

“The biggest drama in the closing of the swimming pools, it is all these children who have not learned to swim for two years, deplores Olivier, the bi-weekly swimmer.

There are also sports clubs with no solution, some may not be able to get by.

"In the open basins of Loroux-Bottereau and Rennes, slots are now offered to schools and associations.

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