” France was a flagship boat, a leading figure in the boat company », Remembers Ghislaine Secret. President of the French Federation of Underwater Studies and Sports of Haute-Savoie (which brings together the 34 diving clubs of the department), she organizes the festivities within the framework of the fiftieth anniversary of the sinking of France.

This 47-meter-long paddle steamer sailed the waters of Lake Annecy between 1909 and 1962. Before sinking mysteriously at the bottom of the lake, on the night of March 12 to 13, 1971. ” When it sank, I think all Annecy people still remember it », Says Ghislaine Secret. That night, France was swallowed up with no one on board. At the time, the boat was no longer sailing and was anchored off the beach of the Marquisats.

The Annecy man Gérard Ménard remembers having sailed in France when he was a child, accompanied by his parents. Today, he is a diver and president of the Annecy Underwater Club. According to him, ” the official thesis is that a waterway has been created in the hold. She would have frozen and the mass of ice would have sunk the boat “.

Every Saturday, this passionate seabed enthusiast visits the France wreck. Reputed to be the finest freshwater wreck in Europe, France held 7,000 divers each year. Visitors come from all over Europe and beyond. ” It has become a world famous wreck, from Tahiti to New Zealand! “, Testifies Gérard Ménard, who counts” over 450 dives in France ”In 46 years of service.

Placed 42 meters deep off the Imperial Palace, the France is broken at the rear but it is still ” very well preserved »According to Gérard Ménard. ” It is laid flat as if it is going to sail », He describes. Divers can enter, venture into the billiard room and explore the narrow engine room.

Visited all year round by the many diving clubs of Lake Annecy, the wreck is not however accessible to any diver. ” It is an accessible technical dive with a level 3 », Specifies Gérard Ménard. ” A lake dive is difficult because the water is cold. In summer it is 24 ° at the surface but 6 ° at the bottom. It is practically night “.

The site is also very popular with underwater image hunters. Since his first dive in 1972, Olivier Puthon, diver and amateur photographer (crowned French champion of underwater photography in 1986), has accumulated hundreds of pictures.

Even after 50 years, Olivier Puthon still finds this dive ” very impressive “. Even if he regrets the many looting that has taken place in recent years. ” A lot of things have disappeared: the bars of the stairs, the letters from France, the stained-glass windows … It’s a shame. For me, the best trophies we can collect are the photos “.

To promote the 50 years of this extraordinary history, the FFESSM 74 is organizing a day of celebration on Saturday October 16, 2021. Fifty divers and twenty freedivers from all over Haute-Savoie will meet to dive in France.