Swimming in the unknown for the Oberkampf swimming pool.
The nautical establishment in the 11th arrondissement, one of the last Parisian buildings from the 19th century still intact and intended for this use, should close its doors on February 28.
Not for lack of means or public, but because of the conclusion and the non-renewal of a lease.
A heartbreaking disappearance for local residents attached to their pretty little swimming pool with blue and salmon tiles, in which - according to legend - Louis Aragon liked to bathe.
To avoid the definitive immersion of this place of history and floating memory of the district, a petition was sent last week to the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo.
"By this closure, it is the well-being of our residents and the learning of school swimming as well as swimming schools which are unfairly affected"
, regrets the petition signed Monday, in the middle of the day, by more than 1600 people.
Eight schools in the neighborhood used to visit the swimming pool until the last few weeks, the lease of which expired at the end of last year.
However, children are not the only audience in the place, which also received retirees, athletes attracted to the gym and, more occasionally, a few small film crews.
Including that of director Noémie Saglio, who came to film scenes there in 2016, for
Like mother, like daughter
.
Belle Époque swimming pool
It is true that the setting lends itself to the movement of cameras.
Built in 1886, the Oberkampf swimming pool is said to be one of the oldest establishments dedicated to breaststroke and diving still authentically preserved and still in operation in the capital.
The architecture of the Belle Époque can be seen in its enamelled changing rooms along the passageway as well as in the baroque layout of the basin, the two portions of which are at right angles.
Under the pen of Aragon, the idle Aurélien came, in the novel of the same name, to get lost and roll up between the threads of water of the basin, delivered body and soul to aquatic daydreams.
So many details that give it a charm, modest but certain, which contrasts with the austere and imposing dimensions of an Olympic swimming pool.
Read alsoThe art galleries of Saint-Germain-des-Prés are alarmed by the pedestrianization of their district
Has nothing been done to preserve this charming place?
Yes. The managers of the swimming pool, Espace Form Oberkampf, informed the borough council two years ago of the upcoming end of their lease and the possible demolition of the complex.
A study conducted by the sub-directorate of heritage and history of the City of Paris has highlighted the notable character of the building.
The conclusion of this study advocated two things.
"Any possible request for the demolition of the Oberkampf swimming pool should be dismissed and a request for protection Ville de Paris (PVP) considered on the occasion of the next modification of the local urban plan",
according to the details provided this weekend by the mayor of the 11th arrondissement, François Vauglin (PS) at
Parisien
.
There is only one major problem, however, and not the least: this municipal planning deadline is not expected until 2023.
Caught between two waters, the Oberkampf swimming pool has been flowing in recent days.
The closure of the place, already delayed for two months to reorient school groups, should take place definitively at the end of February.
According to the town hall of the 11th, the building would have changed owners in 2021. The latter would not have made his plans public, raising fears of a possible demolition of the whole.
Last hope of the Oberkampf shipwrecked people: preventive registration of the swimming pool as a Historic Monument.
The file would then fall neither to the town hall of the 11th arrondissement, nor to the City of Paris, but to a bigger fish: the Ministry of Culture.
