There are those who come for dunes, pines and fine sand. And then there are those for whom Lacanau, every summer, rhymes especially with vigilance and security. Behind the postcard decor, with its wild beaches and its escape air, the face of the seaside resort is quite different, as soon as the first days of July arrive. The city sees its population exploding, and its concerns with.
“It’s very simple, we are currently 100,000 in Lacanau, for a population of 6,000 per year,” observes the mayor, Laurent Peyrondet. Paying every moment, paid by a security device on the beaches, but also in the heart of the city. In the middle of the crowd, even in the agitated nights at the exit of the nightclubs. Twenty-four hours a day.
“A special mini-gendarmerie” summer
This summer, the system has further evolved. “He has changed since the Olympic Games,” said Commander Pognon, squadron chief of the Médoc sector. “We previously had the support of the mobile gendarmes, deployed specially for the summer, but now, these are mainly brigadiers from other territories and reservists. Of the 110 reinforcements assigned to the Medocaine coast, half is concentrated only on Lacanau. “We try to mesh all the stations, but it’s true that we put the package here,” admits the rank.
To these reinforcements is added a provisional position in Lacanau-Océan, installed only in July-August. “It’s quite huge a scenario like that. It is a mini-gendarmerie, which is only used during the summer peak, ”notes the commander. In the coastal part of the city, the gendarmerie explains managing two highlights during summer nights: “The bars out to the nightclubs, between 1 hour and 2 hours, then the boxes of boxes at 5 am. »»
To streamline exchanges on the ground, a WhatsApp loop brings together gendarmes, municipal police, bouncers and elected officials. Flexible, reactive, “real -time” coordination. “Twenty years ago, Lacanau was renowned for her brawls. Today, it’s calmer. We want to be visible, but also pedagogues, ”says the commander.
Show blue
An observation also shared by the mayor of the city. “When I am told ” I am not going to Lacanau because there is too much blue ”, well, I am very happy. Laurent Peyrondet remembers a more tense, “more delicate” era. “We made the headlines for the news. Today, thanks to efforts on security, work, image, we have become much more family, a sports city … it has changed! We no longer want the Lacanau twenty years ago. »»
On the side of the municipal police also, summer mobilizes exceptional means. To the 11 full agents are added 14 seasonal reinforcements, mainly from the ASVP of the town. Two video protection stations (CSU) are also active. And to complete the system, CRS are present for general security on the beaches, beyond rescue missions.
“But it’s not just the night you have to be vigilant,” recalls the mayor. “There is circulation on the roads, the cycle paths very frequented, and of course the forest massif, which is very closely monitored with the risk of fire. Neither time nor respite for the day before, she sneaks into the slightest gap of this summer landscape.
