One in five beaches regularly polluted by bacteria according to an association, those in Occitanie spared

In total, 93 beaches (5.02%) are "to avoid" and 316 "not recommended" (17.04%) on the 1 854 beaches of France and Corsica, according to the classification of the Breton association , published on the website labelleplage.fr. Conversely, swimming is "recommended" for 690 beaches (37.2 %) and "not very risky" for 755 (40.7%).

The worst ranked beaches are in the Alpes-Maritimes, the North, Pas-de-Calais, Calvados and the northern coast of Brittany. The beaches of Landunvez (Finistère), Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais) and Saint-Laurent-du-Var (Alpes-Maritimes) occupy the bottom of the ranking.

The best ranked are located on the Atlantic coast, in Occitanie and Corsica, with the beaches of Lège-Cap-Ferret (Gironde), Palavas-les-Flots (Hérault) or Etel (Morbihan) in the leading group. The first, therefore the least polluted, is located in Hérault: this is Robinson beach, in Marseillan.

"Another classification, with official data"

The association developed this classification based on the results of official analyses, from which it derived a new indicator, more precise according to it than that published by the Ministry of Health (baignades.sante.gouv.fr). "We tried to design another classification with the same data. Because many beaches are classified as good or excellent even though they are subject to pollution, explained to AFP Christophe Le Visage, vice-president of ’ ERB. "With the concentrations of bacteria observed on certain beaches, there are risks for swimmers", he observes.

The association assigns a score out of 100 to each beach by evaluating the health risk for each sample taken by the authorities: if 10% of the samples are classified " medium" or "bad", the score is 90. This classification thus creates four categories of beaches, where swimming is "recommended" (score equal to or greater than 95), "low risk" (between 85 and 95), "not recommended" (from 70 to 85) and "to avoid" (less than 70).

Better supervision of livestock effluent requested

The association is calling for more information and monitoring of the quality of bathing water and better supervision of livestock effluent. "We are investing millions of ;rsquo;euros in sanitation, while many polluted beaches are located in areas where there are few tourists and little urbanization, such as in Northern Brittany, remarks Mr. Le Visage, who estimates that around sixty Breton beaches are affected by pollution due to slurry spread in the fields. "In terms of bacteria, a pig is the equivalent of thirty humans", he emphasizes.

According to figures from the Ministry of Health, 92.4% of seawater bathing sites were classified as excellent or good quality in 2022.

The region’s beaches among the best ranked

On the map of the Labelleplage.fr website, the Languedoc coastline displays its good health. We only see blue dots (for recommended beach) or green dots (for low risk). Only the beach at Faubourg à Collioure (Pyr&nées-Orientales), ranked 1627th out of 1854 with an ERB rating of 77.92 out of 100, is indicated "Not recommended& eacute;e" by an orange dot.

A rare occurrence, since the other swimming spots in the region are all rather well classified. Let us cite for example, going back to the north, the beaches of Gruissan, all classified as equality in 61st place; that of Saint-Pierre-la-Mer, 26th, the same ranking as that of Vias or Castellas à Sète ; that of Robinson &agrav; Marseillan crowned champion of France à 1st place; that of Aresquiers à Frontignan, 61st; that of Palavas, right bank, 77th. Pointe de l’Espiguette, in Grau-du-Roi, occupies 48th rank.

If others are ranked between the 100th and 600th places, they all have an ERB rating of between 95 and 97.5 points, i.e. a high quality. bathing area deemed satisfactory by the Eau et Rivières de Bretagne association. À your swimsuits!