Reinforcement of the material means of surveillance, increase of the human presence or even tightening of access rules, it is a message of firmness that Patrick Karam wanted to convey. The vice president of the regional council of Ile-de-France, in charge of youth, sports and community life held to organize this Sunday a working meeting with the teams of the leisure island of Etampes, less 48 hours after the incidents that occurred on the site.
Friday evening, a fight followed by an impressive stampede took place near the swimming pool, forcing the police to intervene. “We cannot leave traumatized families, terrified kids, harassed girls. There will now be zero tolerance on our twelve leisure islands, he warns. We have already invested 7 million euros in security and we will continue to do so. Violence is not acceptable. "
Recreational islands off limits to troublemakers
Concretely, several measures will be studied or are already tested. Starting with the presence of drones equipped with speakers. Two bases are already equipped with it, in Étampes the order has just been placed. "We have strengthened video protection on all sites," continues Patrick Karam. With the agreement of the mayor of Etampes, the images will be transferred to the urban supervision center of the municipal police. We would also like the presence of dog handlers and equestrian brigades. We are ready to provide boxes and horses if necessary. "
Another measure: to deny access to the islands to all troublemakers, sometimes for several years. “The teams on site know the people who are of concern. But we must be able to identify them at the entrance of all sites, which is not currently possible. On risky days, usually when it's very hot, we need a police presence upstream. In some bases, you have to wait almost 30 minutes to see reinforcements arrive, it's too long. And we know that a police presence is a deterrent. For that, we need the support of the government. The Prime Minister has already been seized, and I will speak with the Minister of the Interior on this subject. "
None of the bases threatened with closure
The region is also threatening to end the ticket allowing underprivileged families, in connection with associations, free access to one of the leisure islands. “We will have to warn all beneficiaries that at the slightest incident it will be over, they will no longer have any. For minors, civic education work should also be carried out with parents. "
On the other hand, it is out of the question to close one of the twelve structures. “It benefits millions of people, we are not going to penalize them for a few dozen people. It is the latter who must be punished. "