"The legacy of the Olympics": Alain Bernard wants more swimming pools in France to fight drownings

In France, 268 people lost their lives by drowning between June 1 and August 13, 2025, a figure that is broadly stable compared to 2024, according to Public Health France. However, health authorities are pointing to a worrying increase in the number of deaths of children and adolescents in waterways, as well as at sea for adults.

"We could have avoided it. Zero risk doesn't exist, but the best way to avoid drowning is to know how to swim and to learn to swim as early as possible. It's a prerequisite for national education," laments double Olympic champion Alain Bernard this Saturday on RMC . He laments the "gaps in the system" in France over the past few years and points out, for example, the low pay of lifeguards (who are in short supply everywhere in France), "not up to par" with their responsibilities.

This year, the heatwave monitoring period from June 19 to July 6 saw a 139% jump in the number of drowning deaths: 86 were recorded in 2025, compared to 36 last year. "The weather conditions during this period likely led to an influx of people to swimming spots to cool off, at a time when monitoring of sites in natural environments had not systematically begun," explains Public Health France.

"Be careful, perhaps in two or three months, if we don't revive the subject, it will fall back into oblivion due to a lack of new statistics on drownings and in the absence of a heatwave," predicts Alain Bernard.

In addition, the number of drownings followed by deaths at sea has increased by 40% (113 compared to 81), "mainly affecting adults," notes the health agency, which insists on the "urgent need to continue prevention of the risk of drowning at all ages, particularly before and during periods of extreme heat."

However, territorial inequalities weigh heavily: a survey by Snep-FSU (PE teachers' union) published in June 2025 shows that nearly 15% of schools do not have access to a swimming pool, or 500,000 students, even though learning to swim is a national priority included in the common core of skills. One in seven middle and high schools is affected, particularly in rural areas and disadvantaged suburbs.

"What is inconsistent in our system is that this prerequisite relies on infrastructure managed by local authorities. Some pools have closed: in the 1970s, in an area of ​​20,000 to 30,000 inhabitants, there were one or two pools. Today, there is often only one left. Travel times are increasing, and children are spending less time in the water," Alain Bernard told Anaïs Matin .

In a column published in Le Parisien with Florent Manaudou, Alain Bernard already denounced at the beginning of August "the situation of swimming pools in France which, in 2025, remains the same as in the 1970s, at the dawn of the Mille Piscines plan", and this despite "the excellent results of French swimming at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games".

"If everyone does a little sport, it can help reduce the social security gap," says Alain Bernard.

For the former champion, the legacy promised by the Games remains insufficient, even though they generated a budget surplus of 76 million euros: "We were sold this legacy a lot, but apart from Seine-Saint-Denis, where many swimming pools were built, the rest of the territory remains deficient. In Marseille, for example, there is an extraordinary shortage of swimming pools. The sea is there, but it is not in the sea that we learn to swim." Alain Bernard would therefore welcome the use of part of this envelope "as a legacy" in the construction of aquatic centers.

The challenge is not to build colossal facilities: "It is not a question of financing luxury or expensive equipment, but of building the right need to meet the expectations of deprived areas. Like the Tournesol or Caneton swimming pools of the time, there are now new models that are energy-efficient and geared towards learning to swim. They allow for a significant reduction in investment and operating costs."

Because the current economic model remains fragile: pool entrances cost an average of 3 to 5 euros, when it would take 15 to 17 to break even, says Alain Bernard. "Elected officials have the courage to launch construction, but operation is complicated. They don't know how much it will cost them each year, and given the economic climate, there is a lot of reluctance."

Alain Bernard emphasizes the social issue: "Swimming isn't just about health, it's vital. It's the only compulsory sport at school. If you don't know how to swim, you risk dying."

For him, investing in swimming lessons is not only a matter of sport, but also of public health: "If everyone does a little sport, it can help reduce the social security deficit. It's also a societal benefit: when you do sport, you're able to respect your opponent."