Cour des Lions swimming pool – @equipementparis.fr
Although it has just reopened after months of closure for renovations, the Cour des Lions swimming pool continues to have a bad reputation.
This is what we call going blank, or quite simply: splash!
One day out of three, or even one day out of two, early morning swimmers find the entrance to the Cour des lions swimming pool (rue Alphonse Baudin, 11th arrondissement , near the Saint-Sébastien Froissart metro station) closed, one of the few located near the Marais.
The reason? The lifeguards have been carrying out a "rolling strike" for months, even years. And this takes place during one of the few time slots open to the public, from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., with the pool being cleared at 8:15 a.m. At 8:30 a.m., they resume their duties to welcome school groups.
According to the lifeguards, it is a question of putting pressure on the Paris town hall so that it responds to their demands relating to a reform of their status. But judging by the interminable duration of their movement, their strategy is not bearing fruit. Above all, it is the users who bear the costs of their movement, in the total indifference of the town hall.
Sandra* says: “Some times, the welcome invokes a social movement; or other times we are told that technical problems are preventing the opening of the pool. The incidents repeat themselves and it never ends. Honestly: fed up! »
Marc*, another exasperated swimmer, adds: “Getting up at 6 a.m. to swim for an hour in peace, in my neighborhood pool, is an effort. For too long, we have come up against a real I-don't-care attitude from certain lifeguards. It's frustrating and unbearable to come every morning without knowing whether the swimming pool will open or not, then to have to return home without having been able to do your hour of sport, as planned, or to have to look for another swimming pool which is open but full. crack. »
“Some days, the lifeguards are kind enough to open the doors, but only at 7:40 a.m., which doesn’t leave us enough time to swim, since the pool rules state that the last swimmers cannot be admitted 45 minutes before closing time .”
“We really have the impression of being at the mercy of these gentlemen,” continues Marc. I sent several letters to the town hall of the 11th arrondissement and to Paris city hall. Without any response from Anne Hidalgo's teams. We have the impression that the Town Hall of the 11th arrondissement and that of Paris do not take this problem of closed swimming pools all the time seriously. It seems that they are unaware that swimming pools in Paris are often crowded and that swimming is not only a leisure activity, it is also good for our health. »
Maryse*, a retiree, agrees: “We are regulars who swim for an hour every morning. Some lifeguards are friendly and understand our exasperation: they discreetly warn us of the opening, or not, planned for the next day. But a hard core of them ignores us, which dampens the atmosphere. »
“We don't reproach them, for fear of reprisals, but they persist in being unpleasant or simply ignoring us. We hesitate to even ask them what is going on and the rare times we try to find out more, they retort that they are not required to inform us... It's despairing especially since we have been subject to their whims for years. years. »
It could be said that the lifeguards at the Cour des Lions swimming pool seem to have adopted the famous line from a sketch by Les Inconnus about hospitals: "Just because we are a public service doesn't mean we are at the service of the public..."
▼ Lions Court Pool
9 Rue Alphonse Baudin, 75011 Paris
Monday from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. – 12 p.m. to 13:30 p.m.
Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. – from 12 p.m. to 13:30 p.m. – from 17 p.m. to 21 p.m.
Wednesday from 7 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. – from 12 p.m. to 18 p.m.
Thursday from 12 p.m. to 13:30 p.m.
Friday from 07 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. – from 12 p.m. to 13:30 p.m.
Saturday from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. – from 13 p.m. to 18 p.m.
Sunday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. – from 13 p.m. to 18 p.m.
Tel: 01 43 55 09 23
15.10.22
