In 2006, Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano made the film “Our Happy Days”. The spectator followed the adventures of the character of Vincent Rousseau (played by Jean-Paul Rouve) directing, not without a certain anxiety, his first summer camp, alongside a gallery of colorful characters. With more than a million spectators, the comedy will be a success and many will hum the main music of the film, the title Long Train Runnin ‘, by the group The Doobie Brothers. Almost two decades later, in 2023, real animators use the same soundtrack to illustrate TikTok videos in which they tell their daily life in summer camp. With a lot of unusual anecdotes, these publications find their audience and sometimes approach a million views.
In France alone, the only hashtag “summer camps” has accumulated nearly twelve million views on the Chinese application and represents more than 5,000 publications on Instagram. “I started to do live on TikTok to tell my experience”, testifies Typhaine Bertin, former animator of 26 years, “95% of the people who watched them were animators themselves or young people taking the BAFA”, continues -She. The success of her account, followed by more than 50,000 people, started with a first video a year ago, where she films herself singing on the bus with the group of children she supervises. “Overnight, it was viewed more than 500,000 times, still having fun with the young woman. In the comments some fell back into childhood and remembered their own stay in the colony”.
Far from being an isolated case, many similar publications are enjoying the same success. Often humorous videos titled, for example: “When you are an animator and the children are booming on sounds of the 2010s”, relates Anissa (nearly a million subscribers on TikTok), an animator herself, taking his best flabbergasted tune as he heard the music coming out of the teenagers’ tents. “It’s content that appeals to teenagers, it reminds them of the holidays and the summer to come,” she says.
A welcome visibility at a time when the animation professions no longer arouse as many vocations. According to data from the National Institute of Youth and Popular Education (INJEP), in 2022, the number of aptitude certificates for facilitator functions (BAFA) issued was 46,239 in 2022, far from the average around 54,800 during the pre-Covid years. Among the criticisms that can explain this lack of interest, a salary deemed increasingly derisory (often the equivalent of the minimum wage), compared to the cost of taking the training, which can go up to 1200 euros depending on the organization.
So, summer camps are doubling down on their communication strategy to recruit young people. Beneath the videos, the comments also become a space for exchanges between professionals in the animation sector. activities as a facilitator,” notes Jade Breard, 23-year-old summer camp director, who runs the “jadoubicyclette” account, followed by nearly 100,000 people on TikTok.
Previously, the animators, just holders of the BAFA, went through Facebook to find job offers: “but this is much less the case today”, continues the young woman. “On the other hand on TikTok, now that I have a small community, all I have to do is post an ad to receive 20 to 25 CVs,” she says.
In addition to the lack of interest in the BAFA, in 2023 alone, around 30,000 animators were missing to take care of the 2 million children who were planning to go to camp, alerted in June the Hexopée, the main employer union in the sector.
To remedy this, Théo, 20 years old and residence director at the VIVACS colony, created an Instagram account “Vivacs BAFA”, dedicated to people taking the diploma. “It’s a way to encourage trainees in training to join us,” he says. Since its launch, almost half of the trainees have discovered its colony via this account.
Social networks are also ways to establish contact with parents or children, to respond to the various fears aroused by going to a summer camp. “For example, I have had parents whose child has an autistic disorder, asking me if the latter can still go to camp,” says Jade. “It’s essential to be able to lift the veil on certain opaque points like this,” she adds.
The animators try to tell with authenticity the slightest aspect of their job, even the most negative. “I try to warn the youngest that we often sleep less than four hours, between meetings and activities with the children,” explains Jade. These video patches, where the young woman answers a few specific questions, often exceed 500,000 views. “Casing nothing, I receive thanks every day from people disappointed with the BAFA and who, finally, go to the end of the training”, she rejoices.
To respond to the various criticisms, whether on remuneration or workload, measures have been taken by the government to promote the profession of animator. In particular, the lowering of the age of entry into BAFA training to 16 years, as well as the establishment of an aid of 200 euros to complete the training. According to the latest figures from the ministry, 27,000 animators were able to benefit from it.
