Owners of jet skis and companies that rent them will be prohibited from accessing the only slipway to which they have until now had access to the port of Arcachon, that of Péris en mer, for the entire summer season from June 15 to September 15. The administrative court has just ruled in favor of the port of Arcachon, chaired by the mayor of the seaside town Yves Foulon, who issued an order on April 30 prohibiting…
Owners of jet skis and companies that rent them will be prohibited from accessing the only slipway to which they have until now had access to the port of Arcachon, that of Péris en mer, for the entire summer season from June 15 to September 15. The administrative court has just ruled in favor of the port of Arcachon, chaired by the mayor of the seaside town Yves Foulon, who had issued an order on April 30 prohibiting this launching, mainly due to the increase in ” incivility and nuisances” of jet-ski practitioners. Only a nautical leisure company located on the site, and which has entered into a contract with the port of Arcachon, will always be able to launch its equipment there.
The Bordeaux administrative court rejected the appeal filed for summary proceedings (emergency procedure) by the National Association of Motorized Boaters and several nautical leisure companies (Gauthier SP, Jet Expérience and Sealver). The latter considered, during the hearing on June 19, through the voice of their lawyer, that this decree creates “a breach of equality in the treatment of VNMs (motorized water vehicles, including jet-skis) and that from other boaters.” They also argued about the economic consequences of such a decision “during the summer period” for the companies concerned.
The “famous incivilities”
But the administrative court considered that there is not “a serious doubt about the legality of this decree”. “The decision is clear and clear. We are satisfied since the decree applies fully. The court’s decision reinforces our public order measure restricting the launching of VNMs at the Péris hold at sea,” simply commented port director Germain Stoldick.
As for the opponents, one of them, contacted by “Sud Ouest”, member of the Association of motorized boaters and boss of a nautical leisure company in Gujan-Mestras, obviously declared himself “disappointed with the decision”: “The problem is that she is not motivated and the port has not provided any proof of these famous incivilities. But the battle continues since a procedure on the merits has also been initiated. We’re not going to stop there. »
Opponents of this decree can also try to challenge in court an identical text taken by the municipality of Lège-Cap-Ferret for launching in the only slipway open to individuals at the port of La Vigne. But for them, the same causes risk producing the same effects, the arguments put forward by the City of Lège being the same as those of the port of Arcachon. One of these arguments is the fact that other launching slipways in other ports in the Basin, other than Lège and Arcachon, are still open to jet-ski practitioners and water sports companies. “These are slipways that depend on the tide and the risk now is that they will be overloaded with users, and that the municipalities concerned will in turn issue orders. I note that only one company which has a fleet of 80 jet-skis now has the right to put them in the water at the port of Arcachon,” regrets an opponent.
