Two days after the release of 10,000 plastic ducks in the Oise, in Compiègne, the department's fishing federation is stepping up to the plate.
Organized by Rotary, the "Duck Race" aimed to raise funds for firefighters.
"If the destination and the reasons justifying the organization of this event are largely legitimate, what about the management of the event and the management of the collection of plastic ducks", ask the fishermen.
Compiègne, Sunday.
Hundreds of spectators came to watch the first plastic duck race on the Oise.
LP / HS Hervé Sénamaud
According to the federation, "hundreds of ducks have been drifting over the Oise" since Sunday.
Pont-Sainte-Maxence, Verberie, Rieux… "They are found everywhere downstream", blows its president Loïc Leroy.
And to evoke "a false good idea".
“It's plastic that will end up in rivers or the sea, and cause the environmental problems we know.
It's not very green… ”.
Suddenly, it is the fishermen who take care of the after-sales service.
"They are the first sentinels in the face of pollution of aquatic environments", supports Loïc Leroy.
"A permanent parade of plastic ducks on the Oise"
One of them thus assures to have recovered "about twenty" in the space of 5 minutes near Pont-Sainte-Maxence, speaking of "a permanent parade of plastic ducks on the Oise". If the organizers indicated on Sunday to ensure "that no duck goes astray", it would seem that some of them have therefore managed to make their way outside the corridor of pipes supposed to frame them. "There were sheaths that broke and by the time we put them back in place, there are a few ducks that escaped", recognizes Hugues Mahieux, of the Rotary Club of Compiègne.
However, if the latter ensures that it is only a few toys. “We're sorry and we're trying to get them back. However, that does not represent thousands of ducks either, ”he defends himself. And to congratulate ourselves on the “popular success” of this “Duck Race”. In exchange for 5 euros, one of the spectators could win a car, if the duck corresponding to his ticket crossed the finish line first. "We sold nearly 7,800 tickets," said Hugues Mahieux, reporting a sum of around 30,000 euros which will be donated to the firefighters.
