A new measure to combat the harmful effects of mass tourism. The town hall of Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône) announced a “peaceful southern coastline” experiment day on Sunday in the part of the famous Calanques on the city’s territory, including limited access for cars to this extremely busy area. .
“This day aims to test alternative transport solutions, encourage soft mobility and invite the public to (re)discover the riches of the southern coast,” details the town hall in a press release on Friday.
VideoTo be able to access this cove, you now need a reservation
Access to the site will thus be prohibited for motorized vehicles between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday, except for residents of the 6th and 8th arrondissements of Marseille, where the edge of the Calanques national park is located. Activities will be offered to visitors, “such as guided walks, games or even landscape readings”, specifies the Marseille town hall.
3 million visitors per year
With 3 million visitors per year, the Calanques national park, which extends to the south of Marseille, is confronted, like several other natural sites in France and around the world, with numerous problems linked to overtourism, disrupting the biodiversity supposed to be preserved there.
Various measures have already been taken to deal with this, including an experiment started in April banning car traffic on Sundays on the famous “Route des Crêtes” between Cassis and La Ciotat, which was recently extended for a year.
Since 2022, access to the Sugiton cove, threatened by erosion, has been limited to 400 people per day in summer, via an online reservation system, when 2,500 people could previously cram into the narrow rocky space. . The park is also considering limiting attendance on the Frioul islands, opposite Marseille, whose popularity has been further increased by the film The Count of Monte Cristo, released in June at the cinema and which totaled 8.6 million admissions. .
