“You swim between the two blue flags!” This parental recommendation will soon disappear from French beaches. The bathing areas will be delimited by two two-tone red and yellow flags in the coming weeks. This is the main change in a decree that appeared in the Official Journal on January 31, 2022 to standardize signage on the French coast. This signage was already in place on certain French beaches in 2021, recalls BFM TV.
Another change: the triangular flags, or in the shape of flames, will disappear and give way to rectangular flags. But the color to indicate the level of risk does not change. So it’s always good to remember:
– The green indicates supervised swimming without apparent danger.
– yellow or orange for supervised swimming with limited or marked danger.
– The Red for prohibited swimming and purple to warn of water pollution.
– purple means in particular water pollution or the presence of dangerous aquatic species.
Note, the appearance of a new Checkered flag to indicate an “aquatic and nautical practice area, where swimming is not prohibited but at the risk and peril of the swimmers” like surfing.
In addition to standardization on all French beaches, the purpose of this new signage is to comply with international standards. A note from the Ministry of Sports indicates that the differences with “our regulations could explain a misunderstanding of foreign tourists”.
Be careful however, the now known “blue flag” will always exist and will coexist with the other banners. This blue flag rewards in particular good water quality, or accessibility for people with reduced mobility.
The risk of drowning is high in the open sea and especially near the beach. According to the 2021 DROWNING Survey, from the Ministry of Health, there were 436 drownings in the 300 meter band, which is, by far, the place where the number of drownings is the most important for the period from June 1 to August 31.
The study by the Ministry of Health also underlines that accidental drownings, whether or not followed by death, were more numerous in the coastal regions, particularly in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and Occitanie. In France, surveillance is carried out either by CRS or by the National Society for Sea Rescue (SNSM) according to the choice of the municipalities.