AFP
In the Landes, the craze for surfing is making waves
Scaring birds and naturists as it passes, a municipal police vehicle crisscrosses the sand towards a cohort of surfers: in Moliets-et-Maâ (Landes) where the practice has exploded, the beach is under surveillance to appease neighborhood conflicts. At the heart of the tensions, the mouth of the Courant d’Huchet, between ocean, dunes and nature reserve of the Landes Amazon. A picture-postcard landscape where thousands of enthusiasts flock every summer. On one side, the area governed by the town hall, where French surf schools operate; to the north, an unregulated area: the playground of “surf camps”, in full swing. A 23-hectare campsite hosts seven on its own, offering accommodation and courses to a foreign and young clientele, not always well seen by the locals. The site, preserved, is transformed in the summer “into a lawless zone”, according to the municipality. “At times, they appropriated the place and asked holidaymakers, fishermen and residents to leave”, describes Aline Marchand, mayor of this small town of 1,300 inhabitants which welcomes more than 20,000 holidaymakers. In charge of beach safety, the city councilor spent last season managing conflicts between monitors and complaints from beach attendants and residents. An online petition – “Stop the overcrowding of foreign surf camps” – launched by residents of Moliets-et-Maâ has ended up exacerbating tensions. linked, according to him, to the “human tide” coming from the surf camps: rubbish and excrement found on his property, smashed fence, noise at all hours… Some, in the town, suspect a handful of residents of having started a “quarrel of steeples” to have their “private beach”. “We want respect and not an invasion of the beach,” retorts the president. This winter, meetings have been organized by the town hall to calm things down. A “charter of good conduct” has been signed with the managers of the camps to ensure safety in the water and protect the environment, by limiting the number of lessons. “Everyone had to review their economic model, which until now consisted of bringing as many students as possible on the beach, without counting”, assures Aline Marchand, whose son runs a school, which has earned him criticism. “It was that or the fight.” In the opinion of all, the atmosphere seems to have calmed down this summer. The inscriptions “Surf camps, go home” targeting foreign customers are erased on the asphalt. The waves having dispersed the sandbanks, the surfers are less on top of each other.- Regulations -During their patrol, the police check the authorizations of the instructors. Without a hitch. “There is room for everyone,” judge one of them, Pablo Orihuela, from the Canary Islands, who teaches surfing to a family of Danish beginners. “Checks are necessary to reduce the risks, otherwise we will have instructors without diplomas and more dangers on the beach”. regulation. The municipality of Soorts-Hossegor set up, in 2021, a new procedure for granting authorizations to practice. On July 13, the administrative justice, seized by a surf school, however challenged orders from the town hall of Capbreton. In the Moliets camps, we play the appeasement. “We have reduced our lessons by 30%, we are teaching”, assures Aaron Twellmann, Franco-German co-founder of the Vegan Surf Camp. “The positive side is that we got to know each other,” said his colleague Virginia Stopschinski, who would like to set up a festival with local schools.kal/ppy/npk
2023-07-23 16:55:46
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