a creek monitored by the CRS to avoid incivility
Since July 1, five CRS have been dispatched to the beach of the Calanque de Sormiou at the request of the City, a first in Marseille.
In the creek of Sormiou in Marseille, one of the most beautiful coves of the National Park of the creeks, taken by tourists as well as locals, the beach is now supervised by CRS, in order to combine prevention and possible verbalizations in the event of incivility .
A first in Marseille
This is a first in Marseille: since July 1, five agents of the Republican Security Companies (CRS) have been dispatched to this beach at the request of the city of Marseille, in order to maintain order there.
In his wooden lifeguard station, with a breathtaking view of the creek, Franck observes in the distance, binoculars in hand. He is the referent CRS of the sector, head of the beach and of the Sormiou aid station. “We monitor swimming, boats in the distance, the parking lot, the beach,” he told AFP.
“They help, on the beach and at sea, but obviously, as they are police, they look if there are no acts of delinquency. If there are, they intervene directly”, summarizes the prefect Bouches-du-Rhône police, Frédérique Camilleri, about these CRS-lifeguards.
A “deterrent” device
“There can be hundreds of people on very small beaches, so it can create tension,” she explains. Thefts from cars in the parking lot, loud music, waste thrown into the sea: from now on, these actions will be controlled and punished.
The device is intended to be “dissuasive”, on this beach “fairly out of the way” for which “the intervention times of the national police are longer”, explains Ms. Camilleri.
“Our primary objective is to do prevention,” Franck told AFP.
But, in the event of overflow, the police can also challenge the most recalcitrant. If their presence could intrigue the bathers, “everything is going very well, the atmosphere is obviously good”, assures the prefect like the police.
For Yohann Massal, a 47-year-old Marseillais who has frequented this cove “since (his) birth”, the change is notable: “Since they have been there, we have been quiet, we can leave our things on the beach” without fear of theft. “It has to last,” he smiles, watching his two daughters play in the sand.
The creeks of the creeks of Marseille, protected natural areas, welcome thousands of people a day during the summer, despite their small size.