There are 105 of them, driven by a single flame: that of saving lives. Gathered in a general assembly on Friday November 22, 2024 in Châteauroux, the volunteers of the Civil Protection of Indre, under the presidency of Virginie Lesèche, took stock of their actions in 2023 and 2024. Between dedication to major events like the Teknival , the Olympic Games and the growing needs linked to climate crises, the association displays a dynamism which hides a structural fragility.
“Without financial balance, there would no longer be an association for Indre”
If the Covid-19 pandemic had melted part of the ranks of the association's volunteers, the latter has since redressed the bar. “Our 105 volunteers have accumulated 24,000 hours of volunteering, an increase compared to previous years”underlines Virginie Lesèche. Internal training, interventions with companies, 19 PSC1 and 52 PSC2 sessions for members: the association tirelessly strengthens the skills of its teams.
For the general public, Civil Protection conducted 32 first aid training sessions, raising awareness among 450 people in 228 hours. An essential mission.
Olympic Games: the colossal challenge
The year 2024 will also be marked by the titanic efforts of volunteers during the Olympic and Paralympic Games. “We were mobilized completely autonomously in the department, with preparation of more than a year and a half”explains the president. In total, 4,500 hours of volunteering were recorded, including 3,000 provided by local members. Interventions have multiplied: 150 treatments, 10 evacuations and 17 days without stopping to guarantee the safety of spectators and athletes. Not to mention the establishment of 24-hour Samu guards, with the Regional Health Agency (ARS), in order to avoid deficiencies.
But behind these exploits, the association remains on a budgetary thread since it has only operated with the help of subsidies since its creation in 1976. “Without financial balance, there would no longer be an association for Indre”warns Virginie Lesèche. Ambulances, essential for interventions, were purchased with own funds.
The future of the association depends largely on the success of its investment projects. As a priority: the acquisition of a population support vehicle, equipped to deal with bad weather and climate crises, at an estimated cost of between €50,000 and €60,000. “ With the strengthening of these climatic events, it has become essential”insists the president, taking as an example the floods of Bélâbre or the participation of volunteers in Brittany, during storm Ciaran.
L’horizon 2025
Far from stopping there, the Civil Protection of Indre is already planning on the major events of 2025: the European shooting championship at the CNTS and the passage of the Tour de France in the department. Major challenges for a structure which, despite everything, remains suspended by the tenuous thread of solidarity and public subsidies.
In Indre, Civil Protection reminds us of an essential lesson: faced with health, climatic or human crises, only collective commitment can make it possible to hold the front line. But for this, it needs, more than ever, to be supported.
