On Saturday 23 June, along the entire French coastline, thousands of water sports enthusiasts will pay tribute to the 7,000 volunteers of the Société Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer (SNSM) by taking part in the MILLE SNSM, to mark National Sea Rescue Day. This unprecedented mobilisation of the maritime community will be followed, on Sunday 24 June, by a grand nautical parade on the River Seine in Paris.
This event, which combines solidarity, sport and celebration, and which will form the cornerstone of a communication and fundraising campaign launched by the association, was presented by the SNSM on Thursday 5 April in Paris, at the Yacht Club de France, in the presence of its three ambassadors, Catherine Chabaud, Charles Berling and Michel Desjoyeaux.
A simple gesture with a powerful message...
The Sea Rescue Service is on call 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, to come to our aid – let’s all set aside one hour a year to support them!
The MILLE SNSM, as it is known, aims to highlight the legendary solidarity of seafarers by inviting recreational boaters, those who take part in water sports (kitesurfers, windsurfers, stand-up paddleboarders, swimmers, coastal walkers,...), as well as the French Navy, fishermen and, more broadly, all maritime professionals, to cover a symbolic nautical mile in honour of the Sea Rescue Service.
Along the entire French coastline
The eight regions along the mainland coastline (Hauts-de-France, Normandy, Brittany, Pays de la Loire, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, Corsica) and the overseas territories are set to come together for a major celebration. Whether with friends or family, aboard live-aboard sailing yachts, motorboats, small craft, or simply by swimming, the aim will be the same: to reach the nearest SNSM lifeboat, positioned for the occasion a few hundred metres from the beach, the harbour or the coast.
At midday sharp, as the lifeguards light their orange hand-held flares, everyone will sound their foghorns and give a warm round of applause to honour these guardian angels of the sea.
Both at sea and on land, everyone will come out to cheer on the lifeguards who carry out rescues at sea or on the beaches, sometimes at the risk of their own lives.
Spectacle and excitement guaranteed, as part of a day dedicated to sharing and solidarity along the entire coastline, including in Dunkirk, Dieppe, Bénodet, La Baule, Arcachon, Gruissan, La Ciotat and Calvi – eight ‘flagship’ SNSM stations that will be at the very heart of the event.
The driving force behind a fundraising campaign
By bringing together stakeholders from all walks of life within the maritime community, the MILLE SNSM aims to promote the association’s image at a national level and to highlight the strong, voluntary and unpaid commitment of thousands of lifesavers who dedicate themselves to rescuing people in distress at sea.
Taking advantage of this unique opportunity to be in the spotlight, the SNSM will launch a major communications and fundraising campaign. This initiative is vital to the organisation’s operations, as it faces significant challenges for its future and relies almost entirely on the generosity of the general public for its funding.
The SNSM in 2017...
- 7,000 volunteers working in sea and beach rescue services
- 219 rescue stations
- 32 training and intervention centres
- 450 boats
- 1,300 lifeguards
- 4,400 on-board lifeguards
- 6,000 operations at sea and along the coast
- 9,000 people rescued at sea
- 19,000 people treated on the beaches
- 80 per cent private funding