Coastline: French beaches are shrinking under the effect of erosion

French beaches are crumbling, eaten away by the sea and rising waters, year after year. Seen from the sky, from the English Channel to the Mediterranean, via the Atlantic, France is shrinking. With global warming, the land is disappearing, swallowed up by the waves. In Soulac-sur-Mer (Gironde)the ocean has even gained 250 m in less than a century, or almost four meters per year.

“For 50 years, we have had the equivalent of 30 km² which have disappeared. 30 km² is about 24,000 Olympic swimming pools”explains Swann Lamarcheexpert from the National Institute of Geographic and Forest Information (IGN). La Tranche-sur-Mer (Vendee) is one of the most exposed municipalities in France. The inhabitants, powerless, see the beach disappearing little by little. Wooden dykes, once effective, are no longer sufficient. So the town hall invested more than 100,000 euros in more robust dams, to repel the waves. In France, 126 municipalities are classified as priorities in the face of erosion.