Mayalène Tremolet, edited by Alexandre Dalifard / Photo credit: MATTES RENÉ / HEMIS.FR / HEMIS.FR / HEMIS VIA AFP
While Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron arrived at Fort Brégançon, the presidential resort of Borme-les-Mimosas, to spend a few days of vacation there, the president’s security service is not there to rest. The house is a real fortress, difficult to access and constantly monitored.
At the end of July, President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte arrived at Fort Brégançon in the presidential resort of Borne-les-Mimosas. The Head of State, who had not been there since May, should spend a few days on vacation there. On the program of this stay, rest, sun but also work and all that, in an ultra secure atmosphere.
Between 12 and 14 full-time people
Everything is done to ensure the safety of the Head of State. Perched on a rocky peak 35 meters high, surrounded by the sea, the presidential residence is a real fortress, difficult to access but constantly monitored and surrounded, as explained by Christian Prouteau, founder of the GSPR, the security group of the Presidency of the Republic. “There is security which is physical on the fort itself, with a few people who are there to take turns night and day. To monitor the aerial environment, we are in six and eight people who are constantly rotating. So let’s say that’s between twelve or fourteen full-time people”, he explains at the microphone of Europe 1.
An organization that has a price. For example, the price of a sea bath for the Head of State is estimated at around 60,000 euros for the safety device, between the divers and the boats of the national gendarmerie. This is why in 2018, Emmanuel Macron had an above-ground swimming pool built, preferring the privacy of gardens to the sea. Especially since the privacy of presidents has been undermined several times, since the fort de Brégançon is a symbol that is sometimes targeted. In March 2023 alone, the fort’s electricity was cut several times by opponents of the pension reform.