Dozens of swimming pools closed in France over soaring energy costs

 PARIS – French sports and education groups expressed outrage Tuesday at the closure of around 30 swimming pools after their operator said surging heating costs made them no longer viable.

“These closures directly impact all children and adults who won’t be able to learn to swim,” the French Swimming Federation (FFN) said in a statement, demanding the pools’ “immediate” reopening.

Vert Marine, which operates pools and ice rinks across France, said Monday that its annual energy bill had jumped to €100 million ($99 million) from €15 million – a figure it said equalled “the company’s entire annual revenue”

The sports ministry has also heavily promoted swimming as a way of preventing accidental drownings.

“Balancing the books for private companies that manage some pools shouldn’t come before the public interest,” the SNEP said, highlighting swimming’s “educational, health, leisure and safety benefits”.

Many of France’s pools and ice rinks are old and energy-intensive, and they are set to be studied in more detail by a government working group on saving energy. AFP

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