Southern Ardèche is an ideal holiday destination. The dozens of campsites along its rivers fill with a tide of tourists from all walks of life for a short summer period. They come to find rest, a change of scenery, and the opportunity to break the routine for two weeks a year.
Mass tourism creates numerous seasonal jobs. The thousands of waiters, guides, cleaners, lifeguards, and entertainers of all kinds are essential to the local economy's smooth functioning. While vacationers relax and enjoy themselves, they work 12-hour days for barely a minimum wage. The work is exhausting, repetitive, and thankless, but all return for the atmosphere, nature, and celebration. The season simplifies relationships; customers and employers also become their friends. On one side, bodies are exposed, and limbs relaxed; vacationers follow and resemble each other. On the other, the gestures of work are relentless and repetitive. Some bodies are exhibited without complex, others are subjected to effort until the short weekly break. During the summer of 2016, along the Ardèche, I sought this particular atmosphere between frenzy and letting go. This project was carried out within the framework of the collective project La France vue d'ici.