It's what we call… rich people's problems. Where some municipalities struggle to attract the public to their events, Sanary is faced with the opposite excess. Last Saturday, the launch of the end-of-year festivities broke all records. “We expected to have a lot of people, but we had more than 25,000 people,” indicates the mayor, Daniel Alsters. A euphemism, no doubt, as the crowd on the port seemed much more imposing to watch the fireworks.
Fortunately, no major incident has been reported, assures the chief magistrate, who only mentions “some discomfort and a little bobology”. But the huge crowds pushed the municipality to react… and modify its programming.
No conflagration next Friday
Thus, since November 30, entertainment and security services have worked hand in hand to find solutions. The first is thunderous: “A conflagration was planned for December 13. We prefer to cancel it,” says Daniel Alsters. Laurie Courtois, from the entertainment department, provides additional information: “People often confuse conflagration and fireworks when, for a conflagration, we only have a third of the budget for a fireworks display. So, when they arrive, they are disappointed. We prefer to cancel.”
The town hall assures that this about-face is far from being proof of helplessness: “This will allow us to do even better for the big Christmas fire.”
“We will no longer make fires on Saturday!”
When wondering why the 2024 launch led to such an influx, the chief magistrate suggests: “What we think is that, as these were the first illuminations on the new version of the port, curiosity brought even more people”.
More people but not necessarily Sanaryans who, very often, leave the city on the evenings of major events. The City would like to reverse this trend: “We want to bring residents back to the fireworks.”
To better manage this influx from outside, and because “the problem of security is essential”Daniel Alsters announced: “We will no longer make fires on Saturdays! I prefer that we make fires on Friday or Sunday because it is Saturday which brings the most people. Doing them during the week will allow Sanaryans to become more and more enjoy.”
Ideas for streamlining traffic
Because the spirit of the holidays still remains sacred in Sanary. All eyes are already on the next two fireworks displays (December 22 for Christmas, January 2 for New Year). And, already, “additional security measures have been taken: we will try to make access more fluid”assures Pascal Gonet, security assistant.
Several avenues were put forward by the mayor: “On fireworks days, from 5 p.m., traders will be asked to bring in their stalls so that the pedestrian streets are completely clear”; “The terraces of the Café de Lyon, Le Sport and Ô17 bars will expand in width and no longer in depth to leave a larger passage space.”
The Sanaryen councilor imagines one last thing: “If we opened the bridge over the Reppe in both directions, we would already have fewer problems. With the future police station, it will have to open!” When we remember the declarations of his six-fournais counterpart Jean-Sébastien Vialatte (1)hard to believe it. But you never know with the Christmas spirit…
1. The mayor of Six-Fours has always stated that traffic on the bridge will only be in the direction Six-Fours – Sanary.
Why there is no fan zone
Sanary town center has a system of retractable bollards. Equipment that makes access to vehicles impossible, except for emergency vehicles. However, when we go to events organized at the port, no searches are carried out, which may come as a surprise. “There is none because the implementation of body searches is reserved for areas defined as “fan zones”, limited in space and size. But, if we are forced to do it, yes, we will,” indicates the municipality.
To ensure security on the evening of November 30, around forty people were mobilized: “There were the municipal and national police, firefighters, security agents, agents from the urban surveillance center (CSU) and three police stations. “Departmental Union of Firefighters to promote interventions”, it is specified. Divers as well as teams from the harbor master's office also monitored the port.
Surprised by this overcrowding, the City decided to leave the points lit during the fireworks show: “If some people don't like it, I don't care. For me, it’s safety that is essential,” explains Daniel Alsters.
For the next fires, the same system will be renewed with an addition: “There will be a crisis unit which will be set up at the CSU and which will allow maximum responsiveness of intervention if necessary”.
A mixed first for the shuttles
This was one of the innovations for these 2024 festivities: the introduction of shuttles on Saturdays and Sundays, from 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.
But despite important communication, this first experience was mixed: “It wasn’t full. There were between 15 and 20 people each time when they can hold 40,” explains Laurie Courtois, from the entertainment department.
For the municipality, this lack of enthusiasm is all the more regrettable “when we see the crowds there were and the difficulty people had in finding parking”. As a result, the shuttles were also “caught in traffic jams” but the town hall assures us: “We are going to redouble our efforts in terms of communication because we have to generate habits”.
