This Wednesday morning on the Bassin d’Arcachon, at the Flots Bleus campsite, like the cars waiting for the barrier to open, the showers are becoming more and more numerous. If the weather had spoiled the tourists who came to enjoy the Easter weekend in La Teste-de-Buch, it quite thwarts the plans of those who wanted to take advantage of this first week of school holidays. “Today it’s a little bad, people tend to leave because of the weather, but we’ve had a lot of people since we reopened,” puts the receptionist behind her desk.
On Monday April 3, the campsite made widely famous by the films Camping reopened its doors to the public, nine months after the fires that ravaged the south of the Gironde. “We wanted to open at the beginning of April”, explains the director, Franck Couderc. And it went rather well since the campsite welcomed nearly 150 people for this long weekend. A first satisfaction for the manager: “We needed to find our real job. We, in addition to having been forced to leave home, we were also forced to leave our work. »
“It’s heartbreaking to be here after what happened, that’s for sure”
Franck left his tools as a project manager or a gardener to return to his director’s office: “We were lucky to be able to keep these buildings at the entrance. This is what allowed us to open quickly. The simple fact of taking the D218 road is enough to realize the extent of the damage. And the reception, the restaurant and the grocery store of the Flots bleus are largely exceptions in the area. Here, the trees have blackened and only a few bits of the old hard buildings remain. “It’s true that the crossing, when we arrived, is very sad, says Martine, a retiree from Val-d’Oise who came to spend a few days camping with her grandchildren. It’s heartbreaking to be here after what happened, that’s for sure. »
Within the campsite, the hedges to demarcate the pitches are no longer there, neither are the nearly 80-year-old pines. “Little by little, we have ferns that are growing back, nature is taking back its rights,” smiles the manager of Flots bleus. And to add: “We have a planting plan which is planned for next year. We’re working on it to find our forest. For the moment, the few employees in charge of the renovation sites are making themselves heard here and there.
Solidarity and economic benefits
After a new shower, the few customers still present in the campsite take refuge in their tents or their motorhomes and pass their heads between two showers. Originally from Toulouse, Charles said he was “very impressed” on his arrival. He admits half-wordly that he would surely have chosen “another place to settle down” if his paragliding course had not put down his suitcases here. Unlike Christophe and Lionel, who claim to have had “no apprehension” when booking their stay: “On the contrary, we thought it was good to be able to help them. If we can bring our little stone to the building to rebuild the campsite. »
Moreover, all the customers that day are unanimous: booking at the Flots Bleus after the fires is almost an act of solidarity. And that is not without warming Franck’s heart: “it’s great, we have people who came on purpose, out of solidarity, out of kindness and that goes beyond everything else. »
“We even have a lady who came to bring us a tree, so that we could replant it in the campsite. There is nothing worth it. In addition, the Testerins have shown a lot of solidarity and it is also important for the region that we reopen as soon as possible. As the mayor said: ”a euro spent here is three euros spent outside the campsites”. Even if there again, it is not the most important”, adds the manager. The reopening of the Flots Bleus has, in the words of Franck Couderc, “nothing to do with previous years’ level of attendance”. However, it has the merit of reinjecting a little life into heavily bruised dunes.