Scandal at Le Bourget: Mayor Jean-Baptiste Borsali accused of having allowed the secret opening of the municipal swimming pool for an association of women in burkinis when the water was unfit for swimming. The underside of a growing controversy…
A dark affair shakes the town of Le Bourget, in Seine-Saint-Denis. Mayor DVD Jean-Baptiste Borsali is accused of having granted a pass to a women’s association so that they could access the municipal swimming pool on Sunday October 6, even though the facility was officially closed to the public due to ‘a much too high level of chlorine in the water.
A “forbidden” swimming pool reopened on the sly for women in burkinis
According to our information, confirmed by several sources, the Le Bourget municipal swimming pool was to remain closed all day on Sunday October 6. The cause: chlorine levels well above current health standards, making swimming impossible. However, surprise: the local association Femmes Relais du Bourget was able to benefit from an access slot between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. that day. A “private” session where members had the right to wear the burkini, according to internal exchanges that we were able to consult.
In any case, it always takes a long time for the chlorine level to drop. When a test is bad in the morning, it is almost impossible to reopen in the afternoon.
– An expert of the question
Disturbing feature of this slot obtained by the association: no lifeguard employed by the city was present to supervise swimming. Enough to wonder about the security conditions of this opaque opening, to say the least, which would have been validated by the mayor in person.
The mayor defends himself and invokes Pink October
Contacted, Jean-Baptiste Borsali denies any preferential treatment and assures that this session was planned for a long time as part of Pink October, breast cancer awareness month. He maintains that all safety rules were respected despite the absence of municipal staff.
Except that an actor close to the matter confirms it to us: it was “impossible to open the swimming pool for health reasons” that day, new tests carried out at 12:30 p.m. having confirmed chlorine levels still too high. Difficult in these conditions to imagine that the situation was magically arranged half an hour later to allow swimming without risk.
A new controversy which weakens the mayor
This affair comes at a bad time for Jean-Baptiste Borsali, whose management is already contested by his opponents. Many criticize him for his proximity to certain community associations, to the detriment of the general interest of Bourgetins.
The mayor is already weakened, this swimming pool thing is not going to help anything. We cannot have differentiated treatment based on our association or religious affiliation.
– An opposition elected official who requested anonymity
Beyond the case of the swimming pool, this “double standard” is increasingly annoying in the municipality. It remains to be seen whether the mayor will manage to calm the controversy and reassure him about his management of public facilities. The affair is in any case likely to animate the next municipal council, some elected officials having already planned to demand accountability.
