Vert Marine justified these closures on Monday by ensuring that its energy bill had increased from “15 to 100 million euros”, or “the entire annual turnover of the company”.
“Could we accept from a mayor that he closes a school for economic reasons?” Asks the FFN in a press release.
“These closures have direct consequences for all children and adults who will not be able to learn to swim,” she adds.
The Ministry of Sports has made “knowing how to swim” one of the axes of its policy for several years in order to prevent drowning.
The company Vert marine, which manages 90 swimming pools and ice rinks in total in France, launched an appeal on Monday “to local and governmental authorities in order to take the necessary and unprecedented decisions to return to bearable energy costs”.
In addition to the discussions with the communities, which are also bent under an overall energy bill sometimes multiplied by two according to France Urbaine, which manages metropolises and large cities, it also appeals to the government.
For its part, the FFN also asks “all the actors to take their responsibilities to ensure the continuity of this public service”.
This question of swimming pools and ice rinks, aging equipment in France and very energy-intensive, is on the menu of the governmental sports working group on energy sobriety.
