He no longer wants to spend lavishly to defend his dunes.
The mayor of Saint-Vincent-sur-Jard plans to let the ocean return to the land of his municipality.
A TF1 team went to the site.
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Environmental initiatives
Under the large concrete slab of Saint-Vincent-sur-Jard beach a river flows. Tomorrow, the mayor of the small town nestled on the edge of the Atlantic, Olivier Dalmasso, wants the ocean to regain its rights. “On the beach behind me, it will eventually potentially be an estuary hundreds of meters wide, to replace this small watercourse and therefore accommodate the sea more easily and prevent it from eating away at the land.”he explains in the TF1 news report above.
His project, both motivated by ecological and economic reasons, goes against the grain of what other mayors in France are doing to fight against erosion. But the Vendée councilor no longer wants to spend lavishly to defend his dunes. “It's a paradigm shift. It means saying that what we have done until now, namely defending a territory, is not working. Nature is stronger than us so we must stop fighting“, continues Olivier Dalmasso in front of our camera.
An option which divides the inhabitants of this town of just over 4,000 souls, bordering La Tranche-sur-Mer. “I'm not for it because we really like this little corner, we're attached to it, and I think that if you remove all that…” whispers a little excited villager. “We cannot protect, bring back pebbles, stones… after a while the sea has to pass!“, replies another, more convinced.
“If we do nothing, it will be worse”
Faced with concerns, the mayor invited all residents to a consultation to express his vision. “She will return to the sea, she will return. And if we haven't prepared, the consequences will not be the same as if there is support.” we hear it explained in our report. Arguments which, that day, struck a chord with his audience, even though the project involves the destruction of several houses.
“I think this is the right approach, ensures administration. If we don't do anything, it will be worse. We have to anticipate and not wait for it to hit us in the face.”
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In Saint-Vincent-sur-Jard, the coastline has retreated by 15 meters in two years. Sea levels continue to rise due to global warming, as oceanographer Angélique Melet tells TF1: “Levels that were considered truly extreme in the past, as was the case for example for Xynthia, will be reached at much higher frequencies, perhaps several times per decade within the next century.“In the meantime, in Saint-Vincent-sur-Jard, Olivier Dalmasso's estuarine project will be submitted to the municipal council for a vote on November 14.
