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Raider targets whirlpool baths in France in protest over water use

They are calling him the “Jacuzzi driller”: a hooded youth in north-east France who is carrying out raids on properties with outdoor pools in protest over water use.

Pools at eight chalets in the town of Gérardmer in the Vosges region were vandalised by the intruder, who drilled a 2cm hole in each. The saboteur left a note reading: “Water is made for drinking! You are killing the Vosges. Seriously, the planet is sick. Wake up!”

The victims estimate the total cost of the damage at about €80,000 (£67,000).

One owner, Olivier Robert, told French television his security cameras had picked up the culprit at the property, which was empty at the time.

“An individual, young and acting alone, got into my property and others in my district. They stayed for around an hour and a half in commando mode with a bandana over his eyes and latex gloves,” Robert said.

“I usually visit the place around once a week and I don’t rent it out much. I find it a bit creepy to have someone come into your home at night for an act of sabotage and leaving a Robin Hood-style message in the name of some pseudo ecological ideal.

“What is now happening is the result of several factors but we are not responsible for the water shortage. The drought is the main cause, and the influx of tourists. They’re attacking property now; will they be attacking people next?”

Alain Richard, whose tub was also damaged, said: “They emptied a pool that contained chlorinated water into the ground, which is ridiculous. I think there’s an element of jealousy about it.”

Gérardmer, overlooking a large lake near the French-German border, is best known as an Alpine ski resort. The town has reported an influx of summer tourists in recent years, boosting the population from 8,000 to up to 30,000 in July and August.

Stessy Speissman, the mayor of Gérardmer, said some locals were angry over competing demands for increasingly scarce water supplies. “Certainly local people feel that if there’s a shortage of this resource, the local inhabitants should have priority,” Speissmann said.

The Gérardmer authorities have resorted to pumping water out of the lake to ensure local homes are kept supplied with tap water, but it has been declared unfit to drink.

There have been tensions over water use across France, with many departments subject to restrictions as a result of a historically hot and dry summer.

Climate activists filled in the holes at golf courses near Toulouse to protest against the exemption of golfing greens from water bans during the severe drought. The activists described golf as the “leisure industry of the most privileged”.

In a petition, the activists said the exemption showed that “economic madness takes precedence over ecological reason”.

In July, 400 cubic metres of water set aside to help fight fires in the Ardeche region disappeared, and there have been reports of damage to water tanks at farms.