On Tuesday, May 12, 2020, a press release from the Federation of the Nautical Industries set the small world of yachting on fire. The latter refers to paragraph 2 of article 7 of the decree of 11 May 2020 which stipulates:
"II. - Access to beaches, bodies of water and lakes is prohibited. Nautical and recreational activities are prohibited. The representative of the State may, however, on a proposal from the mayor or, in Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy, from the president of the local authority, authorise access to beaches, bodies of water and lakes and nautical and recreational boating activities if the procedures and controls are put in place to ensure compliance with the provisions of Articles 1 and 6"
So is this a retrograde step with respect to the Prime Minister's statements of May 7 authorizing the plaisance?? Serge Pallares, President of the French Federation of Marinas, explains:
"Following the Prime Minister's intervention, it was decided that the mayor and the prefect would work in pairs on many subjects - including beaches, security, schools - and the ports are not excluded from this arrangement.
Before that, in a move to reopen to pleasure boating, we have established with several authorities a guide to recommend the management of ports in the communes The report also contains a list of the actions to be taken by each person to reduce barriers and health problems. This document, requested by the Secretary General for the Sea, Denis Robin, has been validated.
In each municipality, the mayor is responsible for the port management authority. He must therefore, in relation with the port manager, request the opening of the port from the prefect of the department by stipulating that the charter of good practice of the federation approved by the state is well in place and that the conditions are respected for the reopening of the premises and pontoons. The prefect then validates the request.
We must not forget that we are in a major health crisis and that the responsibility of mayors, prefects and port managers is at stake. We cannot do just anything.
Today, on all the sea fronts - in Occitania, on the Mediterranean, on the Atlantic coast - particularly in Brest this morning on the port of Moulin Blanc - the ports are unblocking and there are no problems.
I would not comment on that statement. For the past two months we have been receiving negative messages of health crisis and today we are responsible for spreading positive messages of hope and serenity. Above all, we must not set fires and fuel sterile debates. Today the boats are coming out and it is possible to sail. We mustn't forget that we're emerging from a major crisis and that the recovery will take time. To conclude, I would say that there were a lot of people commenting, but not many people working."
Indeed, if one reads paragraph 2 of this article 7 correctly, one finds exactly the procedure detailed by Serge Pallares. If we read it correctly, we find exactly the procedure detailed by Serge Pallares "" it goes on to say that the mayor only has to apply to the prefect for the reopening of the activities "540"Beaches, bodies of water in the sea or river are closed and boating activities are prohibited. The authority competent to authorise the resumption is the departmental prefect. The decree specifies. Harbour masters must submit their applications to the mayors, who have a special relationship with the prefects. On the other hand, ports are not closed by government decision.
Boaters can go to the pontoons and thus to their boat. What is currently prohibited in ports that have not obtained the validation to authorize navigation is to set sail. That is to say that if a yachtsman is checked at sea, he will be asked where he comes from to check whether navigation in that port has been validated by the department. In any case, I would like to salute the FFPP, which has done a remarkable job of producing a charter of good practice in record time."360"https://media.bateaux.com/bateaux/33842/federation-des-industries-nautiques-navigation-federation-francaise-des-ports-de-plaisance-3.jpg"?Les boating and leisure activities are interdites?"354">
