Didier Loubeyre, from Carcassonne, was the first trader to set up on the shores of Lac de la Cavayère in the early 1990s. He owned the “Flotteurs de la Cavayère” concession. Now manager of the Paul-Sabatier high school cafeteria, he gives his perspective on the alarming situation of the emptying lake.
“We have to think of the bathtub that fills and leaks like the fifth grade problem that we learn about at school. If we leave this valve open, the fish will escape like water from the lake, and burst. The stream at the bottom of the dam only flows when it rains…” Pharmacist, showman and today manager of the cafeteria at the Paul-Sabatier high school in Carcassonne, Didier Loubeyre was the first to settle around Lake Cavayère in the early 1990s: “Raymond Chesa, who had just built the lake, wanted pedal boats but no one was offering them. Paul Pubil, who was then the representative of the fairgrounds, told him that I was the man for the job.” The lake was inaugurated on January 12, 1989, without water, due to the drought of the previous year. With filling which will be effective in May 1991.
The Independent – DR
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It was at this time that the Flotteurs de la Cavayère concession was born with Didier Loubeyre, who was associated with Aimé Bernière of “Carcassonne Caoutchouc”. He too was a showman. “At the time, Raymond Chesa didn’t want anything else, not even a refreshment bar…”remembers Didier Loubeyre. “But people were asking for it. Firstly, I brought a cooler on site with the approval of the mayor. Before his deputy Marc Teulié gave me authorization to set up a chalet, where I was able to make a refreshment bar.”
Raymond Chesa wanted to keep it wild.
Independant – BOYER Claude
In 2003, Bruno Tocchetto then created the O2 Aventure treetop adventure park near the lake. Cyrille Doray and his Aquaviva park will follow, facing the sandy beach in the summer of 2011; then Clément Planel and his water ski lift in 2014. “Raymond Chesa would not have agreed to these installations, that’s for sure! He wanted it to remain wild”underlines Didier Loubeyre. “As president of the fishing federation at the time, he had put fish such as carp or perch which eat algae. Then there was this stupidity of putting catfish and pike which ate the fry of other species…”
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Carcassonne: An online petition launched to demand the closure of the dam valve which empties Lake La Cavayère
This valve should be opened in winter and closed in summer. If it continues like this, the lake is ruined!
It was during 2014 that Didier Loubeyre decided to sell Flotteurs de la Cavayère to Roberto Cancy and his partner Sandrine. The poorly placed mini golf course, which he also took care of “because no one wanted it”Didier Loubeyre left it. It is now abandoned. “I stopped everything there, because I felt that things were going in the wrong direction. The lake was no longer managed by the town hall but by the Agglo. Today, I believe that the lake weighs on them and they don’t know what to do with it anymore! For Didier Loubeyre, only closing this valve can now save the situation: “We should open this valve in winter and close it in summer. If it continues like this, the lake is ruined!”
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