In France, bathing sites are classified by regional health agencies. If you want to avoid gastroenteritis or an ear infection, take a look at the beaches in mainland France where the water is of insufficient quality.
To avoid swimming in mediocre water, with the consequences that entails, during your next summer vacation in metropolitan France, the site Swimming of the ministry in charge of health carries out a classification of the water quality of bathing sites in the four corners of France. Organized by department, it was carried out on the basis of health checks carried out at least once a month by the Regional Health Agency (ARS). The regulations provide for bacteriological control and these official results are also displayed on panels near beaches or other bathing sites. Discover below the most mediocre beaches or water points in the ranking in France metropolitan:
The Côte d’Azur holds the prize list for the poorest bathing water
On the Côte d’Azur, east of the French Mediterranean coast, 8 bathing sites have been classified as insufficient quality, mainly concentrated in the departments of Alpes-Maritimes (06) and Var (83). The Huveaune river which flows into the Mediterranean Sea in Marseille also darkens the picture in the Bouches-du-Rhône (13):
- La Gravette beach in Antibes (Alpes-Maritimes)
- Ondes beach on the Cap d’Antibes (Alpes-Maritimes)
- Gorbio beach in Menton (Alpes-Maritimes)
- Cousteau Beach in Saint-Laurent-du-Var (Alpes-Maritimes)
- Huveaune river in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône)
- Eden Roc Beach in bandol (var)
- Barry Beach in Bandol (Var)
- Les Lecques St-Come beach is in Saint-Cyr-sur-Mer (Var)
Among the excellent students: Corsica
In Corsica, as in the Occitan departments along the Mediterranean Sea (Gard, Hérault, Aude, Pyrénées-Orientales), the bathing waters all received excellent to satisfactory ratings, none was deemed to be of insufficient quality. “97% of swimming in Corsica comply with European quality requirements, the classification being based on the results obtained over the past 4 years”, already specified the Regional Health Agency (ARS) in 2021.
What about the beaches on the Atlantic Coast?
On the Atlantic coast, the bad students are concentrated in the departments of Charente-Maritime (17) and Loire-Atlantique (44). On the other hand, nothing to say further south, near Gironde (33), Landes (40) or Pyrénées-Atlantiques (64)!
- North Beach in Fouras (Charente-Maritime)
- Seafront beach in Port-des-Barques (Charente-Maritime)
- North Beach in Port-des-Barques (Charente-Maritime)
- Anse de Toulain beach in Le Pouliguen (Loire-Atlantique)
- Porcé Beach in Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique)
Brittany not so good student…
In the region Brittany, Côtes-d’Armor (22) and Finistère (29) received some poor ratings where the beaches of Morbihan (56) and Ille-et-Vilaine (35) are spared poor quality the water. Discover these bathing sites to avoid, 7 of them all the same:
- Pors Rand beach in Pleubian (Côtes-d’Armor)
- Valais beach in Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d’Armor)
- Le bourg nord beach in Saint-Michel-en-Grève (Côtes-d’Armor)
- Pors an Eis Vinis beach in Lanildut (Finistère)
- Moulin de la Rive beach in Locquirec (Finistère)
- Illien Beach in Ploumoguer (Finistère)
- Pors Lous beach in Telgruc-sur-Mer (Finistère)
The beaches of northern France relatively spared
In the North, only three beaches bear the “insufficient quality” label, in the Manche department (50):
- Beach opposite the Agon-Coutainville sailing school (Manche)
- Pointe d’Agon in Agon-Coutainville (Manche)
- Beach Facing cd 351 in Coudeville-sur-Mer (Manche)
What are the risks of bathing in these waters of insufficient quality?
It is worth remembering that degraded water quality can cause health ailments through skin contact or by ingesting or inhaling water. Fortunately, these health problems are mostly benign and of the gastroenteritis, dermatitis or ENT ailments type. When swimming in fresh water, there is a particular risk: leptospirosis, a bacterial disease.