Laura Smet, actress and director: "She calms me, reassures me, envelops me"
"My story with the sea started with my father. I discovered in Saint-Tropez, where he had a house, his passion for the Mediterranean, boats and... A little bit for speed too. At the age of 13, I fell in love with Cap Ferret and the family of Benoît Bartherotte, an emblematic figure of the place. I am lucky to have inherited a small house two minutes walk from the sea and I find this place as soon as possible. If I'm not in contact with nature, I can't achieve anything. The sea calms me, it reassures me, envelops me and cleanses me of bad energies. I loved swimming pregnant because I felt light, and my son moved in my belly, which reassured me. The sea has something soothing, benevolent, almost maternal, it is not for nothing that it is called "the sea". It stimulates my imagination, it is poetic and it emanates from it something of the order of the mystic. It makes me feel good in a society where mystery no longer has too much place. To try to preserve the oceans, I do at my level and I systematically collect garbage on the beaches. I want to do everything in my power so that our children experience a healthy sea and continue to see different shades of blue, salty, fresh, warm, cold water... When I observe my little boy crazy with joy in the ocean, I tell myself that it is a real source of well-being. "
In video, Estelle Lefébure and Emma Smet, interview
Cécile Cassel, actress, author, composer and performer: "I have the impression that everything passes by the sea, even the biggest storms"
Cécile Cassel, actress, author, composer and performer. Cecilia Thibier
"I have been living in the Basque Country for six years and the sea was one of the reasons I moved here. I was coming back from New York where, we don't talk much about it, the ocean is very present, you really feel the sea air. Living by the ocean makes you humble because you are constantly confronted with something stronger than yourself. And then, I have the impression that everything passes by the sea, even the biggest storms. Walking by the water remains my best source of meditation and inspiration. My connection with the sea also changed when I had the chance to discover Polynesia as part of one of my tours. It was like suddenly touching what is most beautiful, most intact, as if the greatest jewel of the Earth was put in our hands and said: how can we protect it? Living on the Atlantic coast makes me think about the products I use in my daily life, especially for the shower, and that end up directly in the ocean. I try to make myself useful by getting closer to associations that campaign for the protection of the oceans and, even if I have the impression that the environmental issue is now more present in the collective consciousness, we are still far from the account. "
Laury Thilleman, ethical fashion designer and host: "The ocean remains the best pharmacy in the world!"
Laury Thilleman, ethical fashion designer and animator. Cecilia Thibier
"My father was a sailor, I grew up in Brest, so my attachment to the ocean is natural, almost instinctive. The sea is part of my DNA. People who have lived by the sea speak the same language. The ocean comforts me and has this miraculous power to calm me when I am too upset, it recharges my batteries when I am tired. He brings me strength and regenerating energy, but I like to feel vulnerable and humble in front of him. When I surf, I relativize, because I see how infinitely small we are in front of him. I've been in this sport since I was 17 and it's a thankless exercise because it's hard to excel in it. This requires constant adaptability, to be one with the ocean and not to act in force. I had this click at only 30 years old and I have acquired, since then, a form of wisdom and gentleness on a board. To preserve our beaches, I set myself a daily challenge, that of collecting as much waste as surfed waves. I also practice longe-côte, walking in the water, with my mother. With its natural resources, its physical benefits, its contribution of trace elements, the ocean remains the best pharmacy in the world!"
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Suzane, author, composer and performer: "It allows me to get closer to myself"
Suzane, author, composer and performer. Video capture
"When I think of the sea, I see the beach of Espiguette, in the Camargue, where I used to go as a child from Avignon with my parents. I have always been fascinated by this protected place, but it is deteriorating over the years. I observe that the water is receding and there is more and more waste. This deterioration of nature, especially with fish trapped in plastic, upsets me. At my level, I try to act as I can and I worked for example with the brand Awake for the association The SeaCleaners, with whom I co-created a watch made from recycled fishing nets. I also gave a concert at the Mer de Glace, in the Alps, to take stock of the situation and try to warn about the melting ice: I was shocked to see that the landscape had changed since my first trip there in the 1990s. This fight is close to my heart because the sea allows me to disconnect and get closer to myself. The elements allow us to think, meditate and feel good. Well-being is very much linked to feeling in tune with nature. I would like, through my music, to continue to inform, to raise awareness by raising funds, by giving charity concerts... For this, I will always be open to associations that fight to preserve nature and the oceans."
Isabelle Carré, author and actress: "When I find myself facing the sea, I feel like I belong to a whole"
Isabelle Carré, author and actress. Hervé Lequeux
"Before my crush on the Basque Country, I spent all the months of July of my childhood on the beach of Normandelière, near Les Sables-d'Olonne. We would arrive in the morning with my grandparents and spend the whole day until the evening. And without sunscreen, of course, it was the 1970s! I keep memories of great freedom and I discovered the pleasures of the ocean. I was then able to fulfill my dream by offering myself a house by the sea. Romain Rolland spoke of the "oceanic feeling", which he himself took from Spinoza and which evoked the perception of being part of a whole with the ocean. I think that description is very accurate. When I stand in front of the sea, I have the impression of not being interdependent on it, of belonging to a whole. It's very soothing and I always feel like I'm breathing better at the water's edge. I also wrote a book called La Mer dans son jardin (Ed. Grasset Jeunesse) in which a young girl, Marie, learns to overcome her fear of the ocean. I associate in spirit the association Surfriders, which acts for the protection of the oceans. The latter also organizes clean-ups on the beaches and on the banks of the Seine, because that's where it all begins. »
