Diving into the sea next to the Mucem on the J4 esplanade will not be possible this summer. The City of Marseille had however announced the good news for Marseillais in February last, ensuring that the company which was to custom build the removable pontoon had been found. Pontoon which would be dismantled and stored after the season.
But the news makes a big splash and falls completely into the water. In a press release the City of Marseille mentions in particular safety reasons which would not be guaranteed for swimmers : “As part of the public procurement procedure, the City of Marseille was the recipient of a single offer.
This was submitted to the analysis of the City’s technical services, its legal project management assistant and the office specializing in maritime and port engineering. This in-depth analysis does not allow the City to continue the procedure guaranteeing the safety conditions of the site for bathers.”
A pool in 2025? Nothing is sure!
And the hard blow for swimmers is that at present we do not know if one day a pool will see the light of day. On France Bleu Provence, Hervé Menchon deputy for the sea at the city of Marseille specifies: “For the moment, the only technical solution proposed is not satisfactory from a security point of view. And we do not have the technical solution for the other summers, but we have not given up on increasing access to the sea along the 57 kilometers of coastline. So it remains quite vague.
A contested 6.5 million euro project
The Mucem basin is a wish for years of the association of Free Swimmers who when the announcement last February of the opening of the pool for the summer was delighted and already saw herself diving and swimming alongside the Mucem. The swimsuits and towels will stay in the closet and will therefore not be used this year.
Since the announcement, the opposition has mainly denounced its cost: six and a half million euros. During the vote on the budget for the project in the municipal council, the deputy Lionel Royer-Perreaut (Renaissance) described the idea as “little whim of the mayor”the vice-president (LR) of the Métropole Didier Réault, he of the project “flashy”.
#Belgique
