Lake Vassivière, located between Haute-Vienne and Creuse, attracts at least 100,000 visitors in July and August. Tourists who eat on site, in taverns and restaurants around the lake, stay in campsites, take boats or the island train. These activities require the reinforcement of seasonal workers. But the accommodation offer is very much imitated locally.
The Syndicat Mixte du Lac de Vassivière has taken this issue into account by installing 18 chalets or 36 beds in part of the former Châteaucourt campsite in Beaumont-du-Lac. “Seasonal workers are rare on the lake at the moment notes director Pascal Desjacques, people who want to work don’t necessarily have a driver’s license. We have to accommodate them as close as possible and that, along with the rental price, is one of the criteria for them to come. Since the offer of accommodation around the lake was not satisfactory, we decided to buy 18 cottages with a size of 10 m² with two single bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchenette and a terrace. »
The region financed this investment by up to 80%, the support amounts to 528,000 euros.
“We’re going to make some unhappy people this year”
All the cottages will be handed over on July 4, representing an investment of €660,000. The region financed 80%, i.e. 528,000 euros, provided through a special aid system. These huts were provided by the manufacturer Hékipia.
The joint union reserved 20 places to accommodate its seasonal workers: 12 lifeguards and 7 boat and small train drivers. Sixteen places are offered to seasonal workers hired by restaurateurs, for example. The cottages will be full this summer. “We are currently putting together a waiting list because we have more requests than offers, he suggests we are going to make some unhappy people this year. This corresponds to a real need, but we will have to think about other solutions in a different place in the coming years in order not to build housing next to each other and preserve the quality of the landscape. »
“They make you come to Vassivière”
The rent is set at 150 euros for seasonal workers in the Mixed Union and 300 euros for staff from other establishments. Loïc Beurrier, who manages two restaurants on site and an establishment in Eymoutiers, is very excited. He needs three places for his employees. “Accommodation in a place is necessary to make it attractive for employment. We have to get people to want to do a season in Vassivière because they prefer to go to the Atlantic coast.” Last year he rented a site at the campsite and provided a caravan, with some staff arriving with their van. “Until now, I have never asked my seasonal workers for a single euro, which allows me to have more job applications than offers” notes.
The cottages will only be used for two months, opening up possibilities in the off-season. “We will have to see with the region if we can extend the system to other people, we haven’t thought about how it works yet. We are experimenting this season. The goal of the Union, the elected representatives of the community and the region is to develop tourist activity while maintaining a reasonable economy. In 2020, the region voted 15 million euros in credits to make Vassivière the first ecologically responsible destination in New Aquitaine.