On November 6, off the Pointe du Groin, to follow the start of the Route du Rhum at sea, there will be at least 15,000 people. For boaters traveling near the coast, access will be completely free. On the other hand, for all passengers on commercial ships, a tax is imposed by the organizer of the Route du Rhum, OC Sports asks 30 euros per passenger.
A tax confirmed, after a legal appeal
For this 2022 edition, like the previous one, a tax will be required for all passengers on board commercial launches. This tax of 30 euros, (18 euros for the 2018 edition), will be collected by OC sports. The organizer explains that this right of access does not apply to all those who want to go to sea, but quite simply “to the companies that will commercially exploit this sporting event“, by boarding passengers. These boats have indeed the authorization to navigate in zone 2, defined by the Maritime Prefecture of the Atlantic. An area that allows you to enjoy the show as close as possible to the boats engaged in the race.
But to this argument, the lawyer Maître Frederic Allaire replies that the organizer thus arrogates “a right of way, a toll, thus privatizing the common good that is the sea“. This lawyer from Nantes, professor of public law had seized the administrative court of Rennes this summer, on behalf of the interests of Clec’h Armement, established in La Rochelle “but our position goes well beyond the interests of this company. We want to set a precedent to ask the question of the status of the sea with regard to this notion of common good.
The appeal filed in summary proceedings was rejected by the Administrative Court of Rennes. OC sports will therefore be able to register the registrations of these boats again, and collect the requested participation. The court sees no difficulty in this. He considered that the waters of the sea whose “the use is common can give rise to activities including commercial”. The file will nevertheless be examined by the courts, on the merits, in a year, well after the arrival of the skippers on the other side of the Atlantic.