Attention danger on the south-west coast. The prefecture of Nouvelle-Aquitaine calls “people who frequent the beaches of Charente-Maritime, Gironde, Landes and Pyrénées-Atlantiques, swimmers and practicing a nautical activity, to the greatest caution this Saturday. »
The bathing conditions “will be particularly dangerous given the concordance of various phenomena: swell, on-board waves that can locally reach 2.50 meters, strong currents and formation of baïnes, high air and water temperatures”, warns the prefecture.
Series of drownings in May
It is therefore advisable to avoid swimming outside supervised bathing areas. Since April 16, the beach surveillance posts have gradually opened, but not all the beaches are yet supervised (find the list of supervised beaches here).
In mid-May, the prefecture had already advised against swimming on the Gironde coast, after a series of fatal drownings due to baïnes.