From our special correspondent in Monteux (Vaucluse)
Arnaud Peyre grabs the thermometer that he has installed on a low wall, in full sun, very close to his director’s office. At 3 p.m. this Wednesday, the mercury reached 41 degrees at the Dénoves holiday center in Monteux. “Wait, we’ll put it in the shade, and we’ll see! “. The director runs in the sweltering heat. The department of Vaucluse, where the center is located, has been classified as red alert for the heat wave since noon. Not far from there, in Orange, a temperature record was broken, with 42.7°. A heat that has upset the plans of the animators of this center and the hundred children it welcomes this week, the last before its traditional closing of the doors.
“We adapted for meals,” says Arnaud Peyre. Some groups of children usually eat under the tarp, outside. But with the heat, it’s greenhouse. The little ones are in the courtyard. We preferred to put the 3-4 year olds inside and we grouped all the others under the silver linden trees. »
“It’s tough for everyone”
It must be said that the effect of heat on toddlers aged 3 to 14 is felt. “They are more tired, notes the director. Earlier, we had little ones who came for a headache. It’s tough on everyone. We rebriefed the animators this morning on the fact of paying attention to the caps, of making them drink. Each group has a jerry can of water at their disposal. We also distribute small spray bottles to water the children. You have to be vigilant. We are entrusted with children. They are there first to have fun, but above all we have to make them healthy! »
“Some little ones who usually don’t take a nap have fallen asleep right away,” says Selma, the center’s facilitator, still surprised. “You have to ask them if they are thirsty, because of themselves, they don’t say it, notes his colleague Nerimene. They ask more easily to go to the toilet! »
“I would rather be outside”
Upstairs, a group is in the middle of a painting workshop, the tables glued to the window to get some air. “With the heat, they are wiser than usual,” smiles Arnaud Peyre. “We changed the program, adds the director. We stopped in the afternoon all that was sporting activities like theca or tomato. We had planned a bowling alley tomorrow but that supposes a quarter of an hour walk between the parking lot and the bowling alley. We preferred to cancel. Indoor activities are preferred. »
“Me, I would prefer to be outside, because I love playing in the forest, sighs Gabin after showing his painting of the day. But it’s too hot. “” It’s more complicated to channel the older ones with this heat, launches Théo, another animator from the center. They are used to being able to run everywhere, and there we have to tell them that they have to stay only in certain places, in the shade! »
Belly slide competition
In the large park, in a shaded corner, on the eve of the show, some rehearse the choreography, very close to the small swimming pool of the center, taken by storm by the children. “We tried to arrange the slots so that they could enjoy it more,” explains the director. “But you have to make sure he doesn’t get hot or unwell,” adds Eric, the lifeguard. Children have asked me to be able to swim with the cap. Usually, we don’t have the right. There, I said that there were no problems. »
Behind, a ventriglisse competition is in full swing. As soon as he has his fountain, Theo finds himself surrounded by children who rush under the refreshing stream. “Can I go in the pool?” asks Lenny insistently, his plastic pelvis barely inflated. The 9-year-old boy dives into the depths of a few centimeters and revels. “She’s frozen!” But I’m so hot! »
Near his desk, Arnaud Peyre grabs his thermometer again, in the shade for a few minutes. “35 degrees,” he says. Why are they telling us he’s going to be 42? “It’s at 5 p.m., the peak,” warns his assistant Tiphaine, under the astonished gaze of his manager. Vaucluse is one of the departments that Météo-France kept on red alert this Thursday.