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For an entire century, holiday camps have offered children from all walks of life and social backgrounds a breath of fresh air by giving them the chance to go to the seaside or the mountains, to play sports and be part of a team, and to learn how to live with others and be responsible. Health, well-being and education were the original objectives. Today, personal development has become the main focus, but strict regulations apply to these holiday camps. In France, safety comes first in this area.

While holidays for all was one of the first major measures instituted in 1936 by France’s Front Populaire government, with the granting of one week’s paid holidays, summer camps for children appeared in Europe as early as the 19th century. Historians date the very first holiday camp back to 1876 or so. Created by a Swiss pastor, its purpose was to assist poor and needy children.

France’s first summer camps were set up in textile and mining industrial regions, but soon sprouted up near cities, particularly around Paris and its housing estates. Living conditions in these areas were so dreadful that children were sent off to the countryside for a breath of fresh air and to improve their health. This was the heyday of Catholic and secular scouting, when the concept of wellness through nature, with a dash of religion for some, was incorporated into the values of the scout movement. Personal improvement and the notions of effort, commitment and helping others were promoted. For the non-denominational scouts, France’s republican values and the secular ideal were heralded, along with the values of justice, equality, reason and responsibility. Across the board, religious organisations and youth fellowships (of all denominations) created numerous youth facilities. Town municipalities soon followed suit, acquiring mansions, and sometimes even châteaux, to accommodate holiday centres.

With the establishment in 1945 of works councils, the trade unions played a central role in organising holiday camps so that the employees of major firms and factories could send their children to the seaside, the mountains or the countryside with, on the agenda, numerous athletic and educational activities. The main objective was to promote a healthy lifestyle. Preserving a decent childhood in a working class environment was one of the concerns, but developing a sound body and mind was also paramount.

Throughout the 20th century, the holiday camps rapidly expanded, irrespective of political, ideological or religious inclination, soon becoming part and parcel of France’s social landscape. And since in France, everything always begins and ends in song, a holiday camp repertoire soon developed, featuring the songs French children belt out while hiking or sing in chorus around the campfire. But there are also songs about the camps. Ask any French person to singLes Jolies Colonies (“Lovely Holiday Camps”), or simply mention the song’s title, and the person in front of you is sure is sure to start singing Pierre Perret’s most popular hit. Everybody in France knows the song’s chorus, even the younger generations:

Les jolies colonies

Merci maman, merci papa

Tous les ans, je voudrais qu’ ça r’commenceYou kaïdi aïdi aïda.

The song topped the charts during the summer of 1966, becoming a classic for an entire generation of children and adults (though, at the time, some people were offended by the songwriter/singer’s vivid and slangy eloquence). And so “holiday camps” (colonies or colosin French) remained embedded in the country’s collective consciousness decade after decade.

Since 1973 however, the name“holiday camps”has officially fallen into disuse, replaced by the designation “holiday centre”. Their image and outward appearance have also changed. The stays are organised around an educational project and athletic or cultural activities. Children sign up for sports clinics or theme-based weekly sessions: horse riding, sailing, astronomy, archaeology, caving, Indian and trapper camps, surfing, canoeing/kayaking, climbing, mountain-biking, diving, and so on. There’s something for everybody, including language courses and trips abroad, and special activities for children under the age of 6: leisure and spare time have become key values of our era. Another notable change: multimedia zones - internet, dedicated phone lines and videoconferencing capabilities - that enable parents to closely monitor, nearly on a daily basis, the activities offered while remaining in contact with their children.

Hosting children from underprivileged families is still the mission of numerous holiday centres, which receive public subsidies for these families from the Family Allowance Office. The socio-cultural origins of the children hosted vary according to the institution organising their stay: ministries, municipalities, private and public companies, secular and religious organisations, youth organisations, etc. All holiday centres, however, must abide by certain regulations: define an educational mission, have a civil liability insurance contract, respect regulatory health, hygiene, safety and supervising conditions, and guarantee the moral and physical safety of minors. Regulated by the French state, the stays are managed and supervised by qualified and trained personnel. Additionally, specific conditions must be met in order to obtain the seal of approval of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Associations. Of all the countries in Europe, France has the most elaborate and complete legislative and regulatory framework in this domain (training of centre personnel, regulating and controlling the stays, advice for organisers, preventing a person from holding any position whatsoever in contact with minors, and closing any holiday centres that endanger minors).

Every year, over one million French children still set off for a summer holiday camp. This option, however, attracts fewer followers than in the past - one of modernity’s many paradoxes perhaps. Many family policies have decreased the budget allocated to holidays in favour of year-round leisure activities. Additionally, notions such as education and shared values are no longer the foundation of these “lovely holiday camps”, which have in essence become leisure activity centres. Last but not least, today’s parents want to spend their holidays with their children. To be continued...

Written by Mélina Gazsi taken from Actualité en France (magazine of the ministry of Foreign Affairs)