In view of the Olympic Games, a sailing competition is to be held from Sunday in front of the Prado beach in Marseille. A way to test the Olympic system but which makes local swimmers cringe.
One year from the Games, there is already an Olympic atmosphere in Marseille. The first regattas of the “Test Event”, a life-size rehearsal of the Olympic sailing events in the Marseille city, are due to begin on Sunday July 9.
A rally that will last until July 16. This exercise should make it possible to test next year’s Olympic competitions in real conditions, but it is causing a stir in Marseille. France 3 Provence-Alpes explains why.
What is planned this weekend?
“The objective of this test-event is to train the organizing teams and test the sporting, medical, technical and technological aspects”summarized during a press conference Cédric Dufoix, responsible for the Marseille and Nice sites for Paris-2024.
If the event is an exercise, the races will be very real and will see 352 athletes of 55 different nationalities compete.
On the program, windsurfing, sailing, kite foil… 10 disciplines in all which will allow you to test the harbor of Marseilles in Olympic configuration.
Where should these tests take place?
In front of the Prado beach. To ensure the security of the site during these eight days of competition, an area has been delimited. “This red perimeter is a sanctuary reserved for competitors, coaches and the organization”explained Commissioner Thierry de la Burgade, Deputy Maritime Prefect for the Mediterranean.
Olympic Games 2024, maritime regulations applied from July 7 to 16 • © FF Voile
Access to this space will be prohibited from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. To allow the passage of boats, facilities have been planned, such as the creation of an access channel to the port of Pointe-Rouge authorized for motor boats. Some bathing areas have also been maintained, along the southern coast and the island of Frioul.
Why these repetitions do not pass in some associations?
For some associations, it is a form of confiscation of public space. The collective “Les Nageurs du Prado” is upwind against the place of the event, and asks “the relocation of the kite foil event of the next sailing Olympics to a suitable site”, suggesting Hyères or the lake of Serre-Ponçon.
“They requisitioned the beach to make it an empty space for humans on land and at sea. Marseille is a rocky coast, there are only six or seven beaches and they are taking the largest one. It is an injustice to privilege a few athletes of marginal importance in the face of thousands of families”Sylvain Ronca, the representative of the collective, told AFP.
He regrets that the organizers have “left only a few dipping areas, paddling pools”.
“Marseille is not a kite foil spot”, can we read on their Facebook page which has 1,300 members. To carry their demands, the collective calls for a rally on Saturday on the Prado beach.
How are the organizers reacting?
Deputy Mayor in charge of the sea and the coast, Hervé Menchon for his part said “reassured by the long consultation” which resulted in the chosen device. “We can always swim, there is no H24 ban and it does not last 16 months. It does not deprive us of our coast, it sublimates it”he assured.
For the organizers of the event, these inconveniences stem from a duty of safety towards the athletes. “We have a duty to let athletes evolve and a duty of safety and management of rescue organizations. But, unlike the three previous Olympics, we have chosen not to ban everything and we have organized the compatibility of uses”he added.
For his part, the national technical director of the French Sailing Federation, Guillaume Chiellino, sees the arrival of the Games as “a huge chance”. “There are going to be a couple of downsides on the sidelines, but it’s going to be great, an amazing party.”
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