Eurockéennes de Belfort. The festival hires 50 teenagers to clean the site.
Behind the organization of the largest festival in Eastern France, a huge number of hands are busy behind the scenes. In total, the Eurockéennes de Belfort rely on the participation of more than 3,500 employees. In addition to the ten people employed year-round, 500 employees complete the team as the event approaches for extremely varied tasks (stage setup, cooking, electricity, chauffeuring, etc.). Among them, for the past four years, dozens of minors (aged 16 to 17) have joined the adventure.
"We regularly attend summer job forums, and very often, minors come to us to see if we can offer them contracts," explains Johanna Donzé, administrator of Eurockéennes. Under the leadership of director Jean-Paul Roland, an initial test was conducted in 2021 with thirty minors. "We thought we had to do something for them by opening positions." But hiring minors requires additional constraints.
“I wanted to make some money to finance my driving license.”With a medical examination, flexible schedules, parental authorization, and all sorts of paperwork, the festival entrusts Marie-Noël Chavigny with the task of launching the project. "I'm a bit like their mother for these few days," the recruitment assistant jokes. "We don't necessarily realize it, but the world of work is completely new to them. Sending a CV, responding quickly to emails, submitting their bank details, etc. All of this is very educational, even before they arrive on site."
For the 50 selected teenagers, the mission will be to clean up the Malsaucy site and the campsite as much as possible. Divided into two teams, they will collect waste from Wednesday to Saturday morning, before the festival opens. For them, it's a more than welcome opportunity. "I tried to find work elsewhere, but as a minor, it's very complicated," says William Richard, 16, a high school student in Valdoie. "I wanted to make a little money to finance my driver's license. I've already been to the festival as a festival-goer, and I was interested in knowing what it was like on the other side. From an ecological point of view, our action is important. And I'll be able to go to the Damso and Freeze Corleone concerts for free, so it's perfect."
An ecological and supportive project
Hiring minors primarily aligns with two of the Eurocks Solidaires project's values: citizenship and the environment. First and foremost, in its recruitment process, the festival gives young people a chance, regardless of their background. Among the 50, some have disabilities or attend institutions such as Epide or the Second Chance School.
And the teenagers' mission at the event is undeniably ecological . During their information meeting, Vincent Rouire, director of the Maison de l'environnement , thanked them. "Your action helps preserve this site. But Malsaucy is not just a peninsula. The entire surrounding wetland is extremely important for biodiversity. It serves in particular as an access point for certain birds during their migration. You are doing crucial work cleaning up litter. If we take cigarettes, for example, they take years to degrade, and if it rains, we risk finding them, through runoff, in the waterways. Thanks to you, the species present here can continue to live in good conditions."
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