Jean-Baptiste CHANDELIER, better known for his inspiring paragliding films, Urban Side, and more recently, Touch, has put together an ambitious project to create a 12 metre high sand dune looking onto the Lac de Serre-Ponçon. The dune which will be 250m long, will be strategically placed along a stretch of the man-made fresh-water lake that feeds EDF’s hydro-electric power station, and is better known by pilots as the northern most tip of the Dormillouse in the southern French alps.
Jean-Baptiste, born in the area’s nearby town of Embrun, is hoping to raise the €500,000 needed to create the site, which will be an addition to the already popular site of St Vincent les Forts. The dune will offer both local flying schools and visiting pilots the opportunity to try their hand at Wagga flying without having to drive to the coast, plus a great spectacle for tourists holidaying in the area during the summer.
If all goes according to plan, the project could be completed within the next three years, that is, if the local fishermen are willing to collaborate. Their concern is that the current abundance of fresh water fish that live and breed in the waters, will be disturbed.
Very aware of the concerns of the local people, he has assured them that every measure will be taken to protect and preserve the local wildlife, flora and fauna during and after the building phase and that the project will not go ahead until it gets the thumbs up from the local community.
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