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 prevent you from bathing in mediocre water, with the consequences that entails, during your next summer vacation in mainland France, the Bathing site of the Ministry of Health carries out a classification of the water quality of the sites of swimming in the four corners of France. Organized by departments, 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 posted on signs near beaches or other bathing sites. Discover below the most mediocre beaches or water points in the ranking in metropolitan France:
On the Côte d’Azur, east of the French Mediterranean coast, 8 bathing sites have been classified as insufficient quality, concentrated in the departments of Alpes-Maritimes (06) and in the Var (83) mainly. The Huveaune river which flows into the Mediterranean Sea in Marseille also darkens the picture in the Bouches-du-Rhône (13):
Both in Corsica and in the Occitan departments along the Mediterranean Sea (Gard, Hérault, Aude, Pyrénées-Orientales), bathing waters all received excellent to satisfactory ratings, none were deemed to be of insufficient quality. “97% of swimming in Corsica complies with European quality requirements, the ranking being based on the results obtained over the last 4 years”, already specified the Regional Health Agency (ARS) in 2021.
On the Atlantic Coast, the poor performers 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)!
In the Brittany region, Côtes-d’Armor (22) and Finistère (29) received some bad marks where the beaches of Morbihan (56) and Ille-et-Vilaine (35) were spared a poor water quality. Check out these 7 swimming spots to avoid:
In the North, only three beaches bear the “insufficient quality” label, in the Manche department (50):
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, a particular risk exists: leptospirosis, a bacterial disease.
