In view of the weather, the organizers of a gathering of scouts in the Loir et Cher took precautions to avoid a tragedy. The 30,000 unit scouts of France gathered on the National Estate of Chambord on the occasion of the Pentecost weekend were sheltered from the violent thunderstorms, a third of which inside the castle itself.
The Loir-et-Cher department is one of the 65 departments placed on orange “storm” vigilance by Meteo France from Saturday 4 p.m. until Sunday morning. “The storm passed around 4:30 p.m. It lasted a few minutes but it was relatively strong and a gust of wind knocked down the tents of the Cubs, which we are in the process of putting up, ”explained Damien Tardy, in charge of press relations for the movement.
The youngest welcomed in the castle
“Ten thousand young people, aged 8 to 12, were sheltered in the castle in cooperation with the prefecture,” he added. “The oldest, who are up to 25 years old, have been sheltered in the forest, on a sloping plain. They are in tents under ponchos, and were singing when I went to see them, as the scouts even in the event of difficulties”, specified Damien Tardy, adding that it was about a “difficult moment” but “pretty well managed”.
The director of the National Domain of Chambord Jean d’Haussonville for his part specified that the sheltering had “passed in calm and good humor thanks to the fallback plan planned by the prefecture”. “The castle was closed to the public from 3:30 p.m. in anticipation of the storm. The idea was to welcome the youngest in the castle as a priority, i.e. around 10,000 people. The older ones stayed in the buses sheltered from lightning and hail. We are expecting a second storm around 7:30 p.m., “he explained, adding that there had been damage, such as” torn tents, falling trees and water infiltration in the castle “.
50 candles
Created in 1971, the unit scouts of France, one of the main movements of scouting, celebrate their 50th anniversary this year, an anniversary shifted by one year due to the Covid-19 epidemic. The participants came from all over France. All activities, games and workshops scheduled for the afternoon have been cancelled.