Coastal erosion is a natural and constant phenomenon. However, it is greatly accentuated by human occupation. Many French beaches are dangerously subject to it, are you concerned by this list of municipalities affected by this erosive process?
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[EN VIDÉO] Threatened by erosion, the coastline is monitored by satellite The coast is perpetually subject to the ocean, so that storms, rising sea levels and erosion are a permanent threat to it. The Cnes explains to us in a video how satellites allow effective monitoring and safeguarding of these sites.
Coastal erosion is a natural, recurring and millennial process that happens all over the world and is responsible for the retreat of dunes and cliffs. Various causes have always contributed to this phenomenon, such as the action of the waves, the wind, the storms coastal conditions, alternating periods of freezing and thawing, etc.
Beach erosion is controlled by many local factors and is undeniably accentuated by human intervention. For example, coastal urbanization, construction ports and the domestication rivers are buildings accelerating the erosion phenomenon, but we can easily include the over-frequentation of beaches and the degradation of marine plants by pollution.
Coastal erosion of the French coasts
With its 3,500 kilometers of beach in mainland France and much more including the Overseas Territories, France is subject to this modification of the coastal line and we are currently counting 126 municipalities (located on the maps below) which are seeing their beaches recede.
With the law of August 22 for the fight against climate change and the strengthening of resilience in the face of its effectsClimate and Resilience law), the mayors of the cities concerned will have to produce maps modeling the progress of the decline of their coastline in 30 years and 100 years. These models will serve as a reference for predicting the next amenities of the territory and knowing where to build or not, they will make it possible to avoid as much as possible the consequences of erosion such as the disintegration of cliffs, the degradation of dwellings or the alteration of roads.
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