Yann Jondot “ambassador of accessibility ambassadors” rolls for the city for all

About ten kilometers from Vannes, the “intergenerational village” of Grand-Champ (Morbihan) accommodates around a hundred inhabitants. Of the fifteen individual houses, five were allocated to people with reduced mobility and the others to seniors. Further away, “Ten rooms are reserved for young apprentices, with or without a disability, and dormitories have been set up for holidaymakers or conventioneers”, details, with satisfaction, Yann Jondot, who advised the mayor on this project.

Energy ball in a wheelchair, the man leads the site visit. In the center of the village, the counter for personal services and home nursing care as well as the headquarters of a veterans’ association, a cycling club and an association of hikers. Without forgetting the place of festivals.

In the towns, “This is what must be done: consider disability in a global way. What is the point of having suitable accommodation if you cannot go and buy your bread on your own? We must put an end to the golden cages ”, estimates Yann Jondot. At 53, this “Cyrano mixed by Abbé Pierre”, according to his biographer, Jean-Claude Noguellou (He wanted to be a fate, Logodenn, 186 pages, 15 euros), is on all fronts.

Its watchword: universality. “Above all, we must not limit ourselves to paraplegics alone, he repeats, but consider all the other handicaps, more or less apparent. “ The needs of all those who may be hampered in their movements – seniors, pregnant women, people with strollers, travelers encumbered with their suitcases… – join those of people with disabilities whose number varies greatly, “by a few. million and 12 million “depending on the measure selected, notes the Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (Social assistance and action in France, 2020).

Federal Coach

Born in Pontivy, in Morbihan, Yann Jondot was the victim of a motorcycle accident in 1990: “When I realized that my legs were no longer working, I couldn’t accept it. “ The medics tie him up to prevent him from pulling out his IVs. A few months later, he felt a tremendous desire to (re) live and undergo intensive rehabilitation, relentlessly supported by Nelly, his future wife and mother of their three children.

Fighting for his own case is not enough for him. “My physical means allowed me to get out of many situations, he explains, but I quickly understood the accessibility issues faced by many of those around me. As I was receiving a state pension for my disability, I wondered what to do to justify it. “ He began with sport, table tennis, and became a federal coach. He travels through his department and helps all people with disabilities.

In 2014, elected mayor of Langoëlan, his village of 400 inhabitants in central Brittany, he created “motivation kits” to facilitate the movement of his fellow citizens who would need it: light equipment including a removable ramp, pictograms in braille, a sound amplifier …

The fifty-year-old quickly understands that the fight must also be carried to the national level. “The 2005 disability law was good, especially because it included all disabilities, he explains, but its late implementation sacrificed entire generations. France is lagging far behind on accessibility issues. “

How to get the public authorities moving? The click will come in 2017, when the athlete does not manage to enter with his chair in the prefecture of Vannes. He’s joking : “It’s harder to climb this ramp than to climb Kilimanjaro. ” Chick! In October, he was attacking the 5,895 meters of the highest peak in Africa, in an armchair towed by a dozen friends.

Back in France, the Breton does not let himself be told. To the ministers who congratulate him, he replies: “Let’s stop talking about Kilimanjaro. It only served as a pretext for seeing you. ” Appointed “ambassador of accessibility ambassadors”, he coordinates the actions of these young people who, as part of civic service, are responsible for accessibility to the municipalities. In the early twenties at the moment, which could grow to several thousand in the years to come.

“The Swiss Army Knife of Accessibility”

Driven by Yann Jondot, the mayors of Morbihan signed a “Commitment charter”, which encourages them to take pragmatic measures, such as purchasing its motivation kits. They will also help him to distribute the USB keys, “The Swiss army knife of accessibility”, that it designed and financed thanks to a fund created with the help of municipalities, artisans and social landlords.

All the information is there: who to contact for help at home? What does the 2005 law say on such and such a subject? What sanctions risk companies that do not respect the law? It is up to each city to add its information. “More than 3,000 keys have been distributed in Brittany, but also in Pas-de-Calais”, adds the one who was named Chevalier of the Legion of Honor in 2019, in recognition of his societal commitment.

Yann Jondot, who still has his wallet full of ideas, cannot let the passing journalist leave without taking him to Lake Guerlédan. There, in a sumptuous setting, should be completed, in August 2023, what he considers the most striking symbol of his action: the construction of a “Universal gateway” 445 meters, “The longest in the world”, connecting the two shores of the lake.

“We wanted it to be accessible to all people with disabilities to become a great place to share, he ignites. We have even planned break places where the blind can read messages in Braille detailing the landscape ”, tells the one who definitely does not stay still. In January 2022, he is preparing to leave for a new journey in Guyana.