“Holidaymakers underestimate the risks of the Mediterranean” warns the maritime prefect

Le préfet maritime estime que les vacanciers n’ont pas toujours conscience des risques en Méditerranée. ILLUSTRATION MIDI LIBRE – Vincent ANDORRA

Vice Admiral Gilles Boidevezi is maritime prefect of the Mediterranean. Drownings, weather, emergency alerts, noise pollution… It discusses the challenges of the season on the coast and the necessary preventive attitudes to adopt to avoid  

How is this 2024 season looking like??

There have been two years of increase in attendance after Covid and we are on a level like in 2023. For the moment, we are not yet in the peak of summer vacationers, where the problems are the most significant, not only because there are more people, but also because there is this recurring problem in the Mediterranean of vacationers who are not always aware of the risks. They will underestimate them.

Which ones for example ?

Generally, people say to themselves: “the sea is not dangerous, it’s vacation”. They do not take precautions in advance and when they find themselves in difficulty, they do not have the right reactions either.

They did not, for example, look at the weather forecast whereas in the Mediterranean it can change very quickly. They are also unaware of the currents that carry them out to sea, less known than the baïnes in the Atlantic. And if swimmers don't know how to swim very well, they will panic and there is a risk of drowning.

The question of alert also arises.

Yes, they don't necessarily know the means of appeal – it must be remembered that at sea the number is not 15 but 18 and on land 196 to reach sea rescue – or the fact that people wait too long. When we go to sea, there must be at least two people, if we go alone we must indicate that we are going to such and such a place, I will return at such and such a time. You should not wait to notify emergency services, too often it is when the sun is setting and it is much more complicated to find someone.

What other message is useful to remind ?

Because we practice an activity that we are not used to, and we want to make the most of it, that the We're going to party in the evening because it's the holidays and drink alcohol, we won't be in the physical condition for water activities. We have this problem: people don't realize that to do an activity, kite-surfing, windsurfing or other towed buoy, you have to be in good shape. The message is: listen to your body, your physical condition.

The year 2024 is already marked by eight fatal diving accidents in the Mediterranean out of the 14 deaths recorded, why ?

Before, we mainly had decompression accidents, more and more, we have cardiovascular accidents linked to what was said: the divers, some are too old, have neither the physical condition nor training and do not necessarily look at the weather, the conditions of which have been complicated, which puts more strain on the organizations.

The fashion for motorized sea scooters is generating nuisance on the coast, what leverage do you have ?

This problem is also linked to accidentology, with the coexistence of uses and rules not respected, there are accidents and conflicts of use. In conjunction with the DDTM (Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea), we have adopted orders on speeds and then compliance with regulations, with all of the State's resources on the state plan. ;rsquo;water. We will therefore continue to fight against noise at sea and everything that generates it, such as Jet-skis.

The Olympic Games are absorbing all the security forces this summer, how are you going to do it ?

Yes, it’s during the most sensitive period. We have an important dialogue with communities, rental companies, all maritime stakeholders, to get feedback on conflicts of use and prioritize the means of prevention and control where there are problems.< /p>

There remains civil protection, the firefighters the SNSM, the rescue part is not impacted by the Olympic Games. What is a little impacted are the controls, there we are going to remove the means in areas where little is happening, we will not let our guard down where it is needed.

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