In Pont-Réan, in the town of Guichen, 20 km south of Rennes, we live with the winter floods of the Vilaine. But this time, the sudden rise in water levels on Sunday January 26, 2025 surprised everyone. “I have lived here since 1989 and I have never seen the water rise so quickly,” says Joël, manager of the Le Shadok bar, in the village. He spent his night in the flooded bakery located less than a hundred meters away. “At 3 a.m., I was clearing the bakery with three local colleagues. We removed pallets of flour and put the material on concrete blocks. »
At the end of this Sunday morning, the water is at the door of his bistro. “I know I’m going to have water inside, at least 30 centimeters given what has fallen and what will fall again.” In the meantime, Joël has moved his furniture to the back of his bistro. 100 meters from the Vilaine, a resident of a detached house is pacing back and forth in front of his property, worried. “I have water in my garden and I’m waiting for concrete blocks. There is a risk of water entering my garage and I need to protect my household appliances.”
“It surprised everyone a little”
Surprise, the municipality of Guichen was too. “We moved to level 1 on Friday afternoon,” explains Mathieu Chanel, deputy mayor of Guichen. But Vigicrues’ estimates changed this morning and were revised significantly upwards, which surprised everyone a little. We didn’t think it was going to climb so quickly. » At noon, the level of the Vilaine rose to 3.91 meters, well above the 3.38 meters of the 2019 flood. From level 1, the commune went directly to level 3, and the protection plan municipal has been activated. “The municipal reserve was called, we have around a hundred people on the ground to help the population. »
In the town of Pont-Réan, everyone is busy. The pallet trucks bring the concrete blocks to barricade the houses as much as possible. Too late for some, already flooded. “For us, it’s ruined,” explains a resident. We have a good 10 cm of water inside.” A little further up, Steven Kermarrec, owner of an apartment, installs concrete blocks and a barrier in front of his door. “I added silicone around it to make it as airtight as possible. Fortunately there is mutual aid in the village, it really warms the heart.”
-The peak expected Monday at 11 a.m.
Equipped with her boots, Julia Éoche, manager of the two restaurants at Moulin du Boël, a short distance away on the towpath, walks with a determined step. “I’m going to help a friend who lives here. » Its two restaurants, the creperie and Marin Boël, are closed. “The road to access the restaurants is closed and at Marin Boël, we have water up to mid-thigh.”
However, the peak of the flood has not yet been reached. “Vigicrues announces a peak above 4 meters at 11 a.m. Monday, this will be above the 1999 flood,” announces Mathieu Chanel. On January 6, 1999, the water had risen to 4.36 meters. We may have to evacuate people during the day in preparation. » At midday, only the family living in the bus parked in the camper van parking lot was evacuated by the firefighters… with the canoes from the Pont-Réan kayak club.
