A figure of rural communism who pats a big Parisian boss on the back, sharing the satisfied smile of those who have had a blow: we see funny things in Lot-et-Garonne, on the Landes border. In the kingdom of pines and hazelnut trees, in Casteljaloux, a Center Parcs has just grown, the first for seven years in France, inaugurated on Thursday May 19. Franck Gervais, the boss of a group passed into the hands of investment funds, can thank Raymond Girardi, the peasant trade unionist and local elected official who devoted the autumn of his political life to it.
It was this small 69-year-old grain farmer, formerly at the head of the Movement for the Defense of Family Farmers, who, in 2010, suggested to Pierre & Vacances that they build a Center Parcs in this little touristy department; if possible in the community of communes over which he already presided, where the Landes forest begins. Gérard Brémond, still CEO and owner of the group at the time, had been choosy: “Too far south. »
The concept of Center Parcs, born in the Netherlands, was designed for regions without sun: how else could you justify the aquatic area heated all year round, the one that attracts families?
The economic crisis is over; the Roybon project, in Isère, got bogged down; Gérard Brémond has returned to Lot-et-Garonne. He found the same political enthusiasm, essential for projects requiring logistical and financial support from public authorities. Facing him, a communist, Mr. Girardi, a socialist, Pierre Camani, president of the department, and an insurance: “We had promised Brémond: “Here it will be done. We are the bosses.” » How many public meetings, cajoling, quantified demonstrations! Mr. Girardi does the accounts: “For eight years, not a day has gone by that I haven’t been involved in defending Center Parcs or solving a problem. I spent my life there. »
Projects retoqués or stopped
This was the condition for having the development accepted in the era of legal action, citizen democracy and “Not in my backyard” (“Not in my garden”), which aggregate opposition to tourism projects. Center Parcs, which is developing in little-visited natural spaces, on areas reaching several hundred hectares, is particularly victim of this awareness.
The former Center Parcs de Roybon was transformed into a zone to be defended (ZAD), leading Pierre & Vacances to concede the abandonment of the project; that of Poligny (Jura) is blocked pending a judgment on appeal from the administrative court of Nancy, after the local urban plan (PLU) giving way to Center Parcs has been invalidated; that of Rousset-Marizy (Saône-et-Loire) is no longer favored by the department or the region; and the extension of the Center Parcs des Bois-France (Eure) was challenged in January by the administrative courts, seized by an association for the defense of the environment. The group’s senior management, in the takeover phase, gave up the extension and put the two Burgundy-Franche-Comté projects in the boxes, without having formally announced their abandonment. “Given the current financial restructuring, there will be a review of all the projects. On these two, we are well aware of the opposition “Said a spokesperson.
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