Villeneuve-sur-Lot is continuing to develop its beach, "but swimming is not for this year!"

The Gajac site will receive new equipment but remains subject to a green light from the Regional Health Agency, which measures the quality of bathing water. The budget for the floating pool has already been approved.

The lifeguard's high chair isn't yet part of the decor. But perhaps one day. In the meantime, the 2,500 m² grassy area located on the banks of the Lot, below the Gajac Museum, is already a prime spot for anyone wanting to sunbathe, relax, or picnic in the heart of the city.

This year, the City will continue to develop this site, an attractive point designed for Villeneuve residents and tourists with, ultimately, the ambition of offering them swimming in the river.

At the municipal council meeting on Monday, May 26, elected officials allocated €60,000 (excluding VAT) to install, in preparation for the upcoming summer season, cleanliness measures (garbage cans, bins, containers, etc.), a playground and leisure area, and a reduced parking area. They also voted in principle to approve an additional development cost of five times that amount, or €300,000, which would be spent in 2026, provided the Regional Health Agency gives the green light.

If the bathing water quality allows, a floating pool would be ordered and installed. "I have no idea if the swimming permit will arrive. We're taking a first look," Mayor Gérard Régnier cautiously suggests. "But swimming isn't happening this year." Left-wing opposition officials didn't find much to object to in the project. "If you do it, it will be great. A swimming spot here is important," Frédéric Ladrech even encouraged. " We've been waiting ten years for this. " And even longer. In 2010, Jérôme Cahuzac already announced such a project...

Successive municipalities have indeed put forward this ambition, which was quickly dampened by the tests carried out. Guillaume Lepers's municipality, keen to reconnect with the river, hoped to be able to offer a swimming area before the end of the mandate. In the city center, work has been carried out in recent years to reduce wastewater discharges, but also to improve the efficiency of storm retention basins. So far, to no avail.