as a Grand Paris stretching to harbour projects

Change is our eyes, but it is not. "Stop two hours on the banks of the Seine, and you will have the net heart!," advises Jean-Raymond Le Moine, Deputy of the President-Delegate General of the FCA (the River owners Committee). And it is quite true: one can see convoys of barges with a length of impressive, brand new to several million euros, waves self-propelled cousins of the yachts moored in the port of Cannes, BMW and outboard rear deck... but responsible for 3,000 tons of gravel, and ancient craft Freycinet all cosy and unsuspected cargo.

The Earth France ostensibly turned its back on its 8,500 kilometres of canals, navigable rivers, and has no idea of boiling that stirs up its inland waterways. A world apart, fiercely independent, individualistic, but solidarity, without illusions about its political and economic weight camped on its engine and its tiny floating apartment, crystallized his crew family, and "the eye still bolted on the axis of the river", said a marinier: 8 km / hour on average, it is every day the race to be well placed to passage locks...

A world reborn yet after two decades of crisis, touring once the rail of the Fiterman years all-transport pages, and then the all-road and sending in the case of a large number of boats, which have reduced the French of 8,000 units a little fluvial fleet more than 1,000 years of the 1990s. "It was close to the point of no return." "But, since 2000, it has experienced growth rates in Chinese", enthuses Jean-François Dalaize, President of the FCA and the Autonomous Port of Paris.

A its account to 20 years

Because the river has the wind in its sails. Political speech is made more engaged and European aid for modernization and the young boatmen arrived. The public France waterways (VNF) was established in 1991 to rehabilitate the network. More economical and environmentally friendly than the rail and road, this mode of transportation is to be delivered to the taste of the day at the Grenelle of the environment. The call for tenders launched in April for the construction of the Seine - Nord Europe canal, this missing link that will connect finally the 600 km of the basin of the Seine ("captive" for the large templates far) to the 20,000 kilometres of canals and rivers Europeans, it opens new perspectives... as a Grand Paris stretching to harbour projects. A challenge for a trade to the extraordinarily diverse contours, mix multiple standard for boats, locks of all sizes and waterways authorizing lengths, widths, draughts (depth) water and air draughts (height under bridges) very different. And that, despite the efforts of VNF, suffers from infrastructure often in poor condition, proclaim the petty, all categories combined.

"Today was just for us", summarizes Alain Bridiers, 86 metres artisanal craft pattern and father of two boatmen. Hull manufactured in China or Eastern Europe, developments fignolés to the Netherlands boats new réétoffent the French fleet. "The profession rejuvenates because young people see well that sector has," said Jean-Claude Malbrunot, Chief Editor of "the life batelière." Symbol of a true "genetic mandate", the grandsons of petty returned to the business after the parenthesis imposed by their parents in an often centuries-old family tradition. But not only: many "out of environment", sometimes overqualified, attending the CFANI of Tremblay-sur-Mauldre (French Centre apprentices of inland navigation, one of the three schools in the sector with the Institute of inland of Elbeuf and Sara of Schiltigheim), said its Director, Francis Doreau. "Most of our former students are already installed in their account to twenty years, after having borrowed EUR 1 million to buy a large boat", he added. Patterns, and already married! Because it takes two on a handmade boat to turn up to eighteen hours a day and repay credits.Upon arrival, artisans in their account and employees believe all win rather well their lives. In ten years, river traffic has increased by 40, and the economic crisis appears so far here little or less it be spared.

In the port of le Havre, the "stubborn", a pusher of last generation of LFC (River transportation company), load containers that a huge marine ship has discharged after crossing half of the seas of the globe. Total 1,600 tons in 176 containers, or the equivalent of 176 semi-trailers. But it can go up to 5,000 tons with other types of cargo. On the Rhine, there even are "monsters" equivalent to 500 trucks. The "stubborn" appareillera afternoon, direction Gennevilliers, where its cargo will be fragmented into various clienteles. It will be at their destination in thirty-one hours, after the canal de Tancarville, Seine maritime until the first lock and cross other colleagues of the same template, belonging to the Cemex or CMA - CGM. "In 1995, there was not a single container on the Seine." "Last year, 400,000"boxes"were transported", it points to the FCA. New markets have emerged: for reasons of cost and image, supply of Monoprix, Ikea, Auchan and another Carrefour centres are now delivered by water.

Industrial convoys

With its two barges of 79 meters, secured by jacks, the "stubborn" formed a convoy of 186 metres long. It is in the "industrial", a concentrated sector and capitalis - Genetics: investment in a pusher of 2 x 1,000 CV and its barges may exceed EUR 5 million, and the boat runs 24 hours a day, back and tirelessly down the Seine. On board, a crew worker "35 hours and RTT" 5 people working quarters of six hours, at a week of service on board and a week of rest on land. Individual cabins, kitchen-living room panoramic, here is a little like on a sea vessel. Fog and flooding make difficult navigation on the meandering rivers and boats there are "traced" as planes.

At the same time, "Kairos", good old barge Freycinet size standard of 38.5 m long and 250 tonnes of capacity, support eight Conflans huge sections of pipe of concrete of 20 tons each, cut to the exact width of the vessel and for a plant for the reprocessing of the waters of Lyon. A journey of 717 km through rivers and canals, enamelled 159 narrow locks and lasted seventeen days, twelve hours of navigation per day on average. "This cargo is a first for the manufacturer Bonna Sabla, who decided to Charter 8 boats to replace 64 exceptional convoys by road." This is the new trend. "It is no longer that of bulk", says master-craftsman, Gil Bouchard.

French inland waterways will continue to evolve. From 2015, 100 kilometres of the Seine-Nord Europe between Compiègne and the Scheldt canal will allow major craft in Northern Europe, Belgian and Dutch units, two times more productive, more competitive and not subject to the 35 hours, landing in France - and vice versa: still today, the canals and locks the North of the France only allow barges of size reduced to slip abroad, and reserve paradoxically to little skippers the monopoly of the international...

A new complementarity

This competition will necessarily play on operating and life patterns. Depersonalisation and specialization appear to be keywords. "The future is the artisan self-propelled dimension, 90 to 110 metres, and at least 1,500 tons, as on the Rhine." "It is the most flexible configuration and the ren-table", repeats at will. Boss-author of the "BUCENTAUR", a beautiful 110 m operated family, considers recoup its investment of EUR 4 million in 15 years.

Against them, industrial pushers will continue to specialize more (in the transport of dangerous goods, for example) or in tailor-made, giving work to smaller: "Was established in March last Coalis, a Federation of boatmen who assures us a complementary market segments." "Thus it can provide comprehensive solutions from end to end," explains Pascal Girardet, President of the LFC. Since the end of the administrative management of chartering, early 2000, the form of co - boatmen s meets a great success. The small templates are "niches" and know that they will have to play the role of "commuters" regional for the largest, by going to search for or procuring cargo until after waterways "hair". Thus, small skippers will play taking short trips. Just as the Netherlands, where we go home at night to resume shipping the next morning. With the ability to put an end to the major handicap of this profession of nomadic families: the puzzle of the children's schooling.