Between 2013 and 2016, the Ministry of Health collected data on the water quality of more than 2,000 French beaches. Good news: only 15 beaches are of insufficient quality.
Is the Riviera, Breton or Corsican beach where you have chosen to put your bags for the holidays the most recommended? To find out, the Ministry of Health analyzed the water quality of 2,047 French beaches between 2013 and 2016. The results were then compared to European directives and a map giving access to all this information is now available online. To make it easier to read, the Franceinfo site has compiled data from the Ministry of Health in a search engine.
A good overall level
Result? The water quality of 15 French beaches is considered “insufficient”. Located in Charente-Maritime, Finistère, Manche, Pas-de-Calais, Somme, Mayotte, Guadeloupe and Guyana, they obtained the lowest rating since 2013. The control of the water quality carried out by the regional health agencies (ARS) aims to detect any malfunctions related to wastewater treatment, the discharge of contaminated rainwater, but also to detect germs that are witnesses of the faecal contamination such as Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci.
Not to panic, however, because the water quality of the vast majority of the French coast is considered “good”! Better yet: there are many beaches where the water quality has been rated as “excellent”. Some of them, such as the Côte des Basques in Biarritz, Palombaggia in Porto-Vecchio, the Sillon in Saint-Malo or the Escalet in Ramatuelle, appear in the ranking of the 10 most beautiful beaches in France by Tripadvisor!
