Between popular tradition and evolution towards modern comfort, the campsite remains a pillar of French tourism. Thanks to the specific analyzes of Olivier Sirost, it is possible to better understand how this practice has crossed the eras, evolved with society, and conquered the hearts of holidaymakers … without ever denying its roots.
At the origins of the campsite: a return to nature in the face of urbanization
Every summer, Millions of French people choose the campsite for their holidays, in a tent, in a caravan or in mobile homes. But this popular practice draws its origins much further than you think. According to Olivier Sirost, sociologist and writer specializing in leisure and outdoors, “The idea is still overall, in the 19th century, to extract metropolises, with the pressure, obviously, urban, the work in the chain, pollution that begins to be shown the finger“.
Find a healthy, pure, healthy air.
At that time, the first forms of camping appeared through educational and spiritual initiatives. “We see cooperation in movements, for example, Catholics, Protestants, in many youth movements that will train in France in the 1910s”explains Olivier Sirost. These groups are at the origin of the modern campsite, which is also found in countries like England or Germany.
Cycle tourism, very popular at the end of the 19th century, also promoted this holiday mode. The English Touring Club, founded in 1875, encouraged city dwellers to “Undo their urban lifestyle”pour “Find a healthy, pure, healthy air”in a context of pollution and epidemics related to industrial work.
