a contested underwater breakwater project on the Giens peninsula

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Video length: 2 min.

France 3

Article written by

E. Bailly, P. Vaireaux, A. Martiniky, R. Perich, F. Fontaine – France 3

France Televisions

Threatened by coastal erosion, the peninsula of Giens in the Var, is at the heart of a struggle between two visions: that of local elected officials from the Var who would like to build an underwater dyke to preserve the place, and that of ecologists who would like to let nature take back its rights.

These are two strips of land that stretch in parallel to the peninsula of Giens (Var). An exceptional landscape, like there are only five in the world, in the heart of which these salt marshes develop. A landscape threatened by erosion, however. Every year, one of the roads destroyed by winter storms has to be rebuilt, sand added. To remedy this, the town hall has been thinking for more than two years about an underwater concrete dike project.

Tourist gauge

The project aims first to protect a road, according to conservationists. By mobilizing for this an abundance of means. On this place, classified as a major site in France, it is the State that makes the decisions. This underwater dike project has been awaiting authorization for more than a year, which annoys the mayor. Every summer, the Giens peninsula welcomes 1 million visitors. On the side of the Conservatoire du littoral, we plead for the establishment of a gauge of tourists, to preserve biodiversity.


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