She did it ! At 66, Anne Guichard launched an incredible challenge: climb to the top of a crane. On December 16, she climbed to a height of 58 meters with Chérif, crane operator and Compagnon du Minorange at Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France - Habitat Social. It is thanks to Rêves de Seniors, an operation that involves changing the general public's view of old age, that she was able to achieve her dream.
An extraordinary ascent
"I dream of climbing to the top of a crane in a site under construction". This is how Anne presented her dream during her first exchanges with the Rêves de Seniors team. This 16-year-old loves altitude, but apprehends the risks of bungee jumping, so to fulfill her dream of height and her call for emptiness, she challenges herself to climb on top of a crane of a construction site. The rendezvous is given on December 12 at 30:13 p.m. on the Fulton block, a project led by Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France - Habitat Social for ICF Habitat La Sablière. This is an urban renewal project, located in the 235th arrondissement of Paris, which involves the construction of XNUMX homes, shops and a nursery (Architects Anne-Françoise Jumeau and Ignacio Prego).
To climb to the top of the crane and benefit from a unique panorama of the city, Anne has to go through several stages. She first climbs the ladder for about 10 meters and continues in the crane lift. The elevator stops approximately 5 meters below the cabin. The last few meters of the ascent are done at the ladder again, which can be impressive as the top of the crane moves slightly in the wind. “The ascent was very technical with the ladder but I was well protected by Chérif, the crane operator, who climbed behind me. But it's a crane, it's not a simple ladder! " says Anne. At the top, the moment is privileged. In the cabin, Anne realizes: " It was really great. I got to know a whole world, that of Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France, that of social housing via ICF Habitat La Sablière. At first, I was fascinated by what I saw and then little by little I became interested in Chérif's work. It is very meticulous and very well supervised. The screens assist in the operation of the crane. It's a lot more technical work than I expected. It's a fascinating job! ".
A unique experience made possible thanks to Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France
The site is usually a place closed to the public and it is thanks to Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France Habitat Social and its employee Chérif, crane operator, and high-level professional that this dream has come true. A Bouygues employee since 2005 and Compagnon du Minorange - an Order which recognizes the best workers for their skills, their professional conscience and their state of mind - he accompanied Anne throughout her ascent and shared his passion and knowledge. -make. Ambassador of health and safety, professionalism and on-site training, he has worked for many emblematic projects such as the National Library of France or the Stade de France.
As far back as she can remember, Anne has always loved altitude. When she visits a city, a country, she makes sure to climb on the roof of the tallest buildings. While climbing to the top of the crane, if the panorama is there - seen among others on the Sacré Coeur, Notre Dame and the Eiffel Tower - it is also the awareness of living a unique experience that strikes Anne. A moment of grace at 58 meters high. An almost impossible experience for the general public.
Operation Rêves de Seniors: there is no age to make your dreams come true
When the Île-de-France pension insurance, of which she is a beneficiary, presents the Rêves de Seniors operation to her, Anne does not hesitate to apply with this original idea. "Climb on a construction crane". And it is this originality that won the unanimity of the members of the Selection Committee, even if his dream seems at first sight unrealizable. In fact, with the complicity of Bouygues Bâtiment Ile-de-France Habitat Social and with the agreement of her attending physician - it is necessary to be in good physical condition to ride - Anne's dream was able to come true once confinement lifted a few days before Christmas. It is with a touch of mischief that Anne, just back on land, launches: “I have a new dream now, to become a crane operator! "
Harvesting dreams, making them come true and thus changing the way people look at advancing age is the whole ambition of Rêves de Seniors. The principle is simple: it is a question of depositing your dream on the revesdeseniors.fr site to, perhaps, see it come true. It is an operation proposed by Silver Alliance, an alliance of 33 companies in the service of aging well, to change the way society looks at aging by allowing people aged 60 and over to realize their dreams. Meeting Thomas Pesquet, chatting with Michel Drucker or parachuting at the age of 80, these dreams are made possible thanks to Silver Alliance and the complicity of all its partners.
Benjamin Zimmer, Deputy Managing Director of Silver Alliance, at the initiative of this operation explains: “It is not because we have already traveled a good part of our life that we no longer have the right to dream. On the contrary ! At Silver Alliance, we wanted to realize some dreams of seniors who ask us because we want to provide them with as many solutions as possible to age well, and making those dreams come true is one of them. There is no age to dream and above all no age so that they are no longer just dreams. "
Anne Guichard thought she would never be able to realize her dream of climbing on top of a crane. This operation proved to him that everything was still possible!
