at the Port Lauzières restaurant, “we know the risks” linked to an exceptional site

« No regrets. » Gérald Akoun's blunt response has the merit of being clear. Owner of the Port Lauzières restaurant business for five years, the 55-year-old man ended his season on October 27 before reopening in March 2025. No turning back on his reconversion, nor on the investment in this establishment, originally an old oyster cabin dating from the 1960s, near the port of Plomb in Nieul-sur-Mer. When you take a look at the panorama, it's difficult to prove him wrong. You just have to stretch out your hand to reach the Ile de Ré in the distance with its viaduct; even the silvery November sky doesn't spoil anything.

Its restaurant, like the Café de la mer and a neighboring house, is less than ten meters from the edge of the cliff. A riprap created after the Xynthia storm in 2010 protects the current coastline across the width of 3-4 meters. “Before buying, the previous owners told us that water had come in during Xynthia but nothing catastrophic,” specifies the current manager. A windsurfing enthusiast, Gérald Akoun noted that the direction of the swell and the wind seems to preserve this part of the site. Except in cases of obviously bad weather, “during the last storms, we had two days at 80 km/h and at 113 km/h, we had to replace two tarpaulins on the terrace. »

In 2023, the municipality of Nieul-sur-Mer joined the 23 municipalities in the department whose town planning must adapt to the decline of the coastline. On the subject of storms and erosion, Gérald Akoun knows the risks: “even if we don't think about it every day, we understand once there that everything is linked to the frequency of the event”. For him, the risks are low in the medium term but the man is not naive: “if I were ever asked to become owners of the walls and the land, I would ask a surveyor to analyze the cliff”. A way to reassure yourself to avoid discovering a situation similar to Chef de Baie where the ocean is eating away at the cliffs from the inside, which causes a risk of collapse.

Organized and anchored in their time, Gérald Akoun and his partner Ève understand well the culture of risk linked to environmental subjects and their work tools. They gradually developed their restaurant using a CSR approach (1) which also earned them a place among the six finalists for the Résonance Trophies in Bordeaux. Photovoltaic panels, recycling, short circuits, the restaurant also aims to be inclusive of all types of disabilities.

The restaurateur couple was lucky to find accommodation in Nieul, close to their establishment. An undeniable plus for the quality of life but which still does not come without constraints. Their home is in a flood zone in the event of Xynthia + 20. The manager notes the small constraints of living and working by the ocean: “at home, I benefit from help for the installation of cofferdams but not for the restaurant “.

(1) Corporate social responsibility, i.e. the contribution of companies to social and sustainable development issues.