In Marseille, beaches welcome people with disabilities all summer long

Since the beginning of summer and until September 1st, the “À nous la mer!” scheme set up by Marseille city hall on certain beaches allows people with reduced mobility to go swimming.

In Marseille, the beach is intended to be accessible to all. Since the beginning of the summer, people with disabilities or residents of nursing homes have been able to take advantage of the “À nous la mer!” scheme to go swimming. Marseille City Hall set it up in 2022. First, Pointe Rouge was equipped, then Bonneveine beach in 2023 and finally Corbières beach this year, 2024. These beaches are open 7 days a week from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. until September 1st. And they offer the opportunity for people with disabilities to enjoy their holidays and the pleasures of water, like everyone else.

At Bonneveine beach in Marseille, Moad, 53, a paraplegic, is sitting on a floating deckchair on wheels called the “Tiralo”. “That’s 35 “I have been in a wheelchair for years following a motorcycle accident, my legs are paralyzed”explains this Parisian tourist.These slightly inflatable wheels which create a form of shock absorber, you really feel like you’re flying”he said about the “Tiralo”.

On the beach there is a kind of access ramp “which allows us to access the sand part” describes Moad before entering the water. “We pass the first waves and then from there, we have to wet the back of our necks a little, it’s cool but it’s good! smiled the bather. It’s important to be able to have this freedom, this choice to say to yourself ‘Here, I’ll take my car and go swimming. And then, I know that there are people today to welcome me.’

“In terms of autonomy, I reach the same level of autonomy as an able-bodied person.”

Moad, paraplegic

to franceinfo

Moad swims a few lengths under the watchful eye of his wife, Sonia. Before, it was up to her to help her husband.
“I would put it on two wheels and take it down to the bottom. And then I had to transfer it into the water. It was a pain.”she sums up.

Today, Sami is in charge of everything. The 20-year-old seasonal worker scans the beach with a watchful eye. “It’s always a certain personal reminder to be content with what you have. When you see certain people who have the joy of living, a certain pep when they lack everything… We say to ourselves how they have so much joy of living, while I have my two legs, I can walk, and I’m sad, observes Sami. I put things into perspective a little bit.”

“We come to work with a smileconfirms Julia, also a seasonal worker. Some have never been swimming in their lives, especially children. We see their happiness because some have difficulty expressing themselves, but they will express it in different ways by splashing in the water. Or elderly people who will be very moved because it has been five years since they went in the water. It is extremely gratifying.“, concludes the seasonal worker. According to Moad, the only small downside is the lack of media coverage of these systems. However, seasonal workers are present all summer. Nearly a thousand people took advantage of the system in 2023.