The Price of Beach Privacy

Justin Postlethwaite reveals why France’s cool private beaches get us so hot and bothered.

As I write, France is in the grip of what the French call une canicule a sustained period of hot and heavy, rain-free weather that usually brings hose pipe bans and unbearable indoor temperatures for those without air con.

The best place for many to stay cool is either a local lake or the beach. La plage is open to all, and free – the most democratic and fair of all French holiday destinations… you would think. However, there is one exception, the much maligned plage privée, or private beach.

Signs of discontent

We’ve all felt the pang of jealousy, perhaps even a twinge of annoyance, as we wander along a French Riviera seafront, for example, and pass those perfectly sand-free steps that descend onto a hotel’s private beach or a bar/restaurant. We spot the plage privée sign and traipse on, disappointed, eyeing the lucky souls splayed out on sun loungers as hip waiters ferry cool cocktails, ice-cold beers or impeccably sliced pieces of chilled fruit. Who are these carefree VIPs and why are they allowed on a section of sand that should be free-to-access for all?

They pay, of course – or rather the hotel/restaurant does. While the reality is that there is not, strictly speaking, any such thing as a private beach in France (les plages are part of the State’s ‘maritime public domain’) and French law states that access to and use of beaches should be free and unrestricted, the State may grant concessions -temporary leases of sections of beach -for a maximum period of 12 years (renewable). The rules for such concessions and occupation of coastal spaces – first laid out in the 1986 Coastal Act and reinforced by a 2006 decree are strict. People who buy licences can only occupy the beach for six months of the year (eight with specific agreement from the town hall) and they must dismantle all their installations, such as bars or dining areas, at the end of the season. Crucially, they may not spread out over more than 20% of the length and surface area of the beach, or 50% for artificial beaches (the surface area being calculated at mid-tide).

The law also obliges them to leave a strip of sand of “significant width all along the sea” to preserve “free circulation on the beach”. But it is this area, where the sea laps the shore, where concessionaires tend to flout rules, to the detriment of beach access for all. As coastal erosion increases, this is likely to become an even more contentious issue with sandy space at an ever-increasing premium – especially on the Riviera.

The idea of private beaches has long been a source of contention. Isabelle Bruno, a teacher-researcher at the University of Lille, told Ouest-France newspaper in 2023: “Historically, struggles over the occupation or exploitation of shorelines have pitted the working classes against the upper classes, tourists against the local population.” So while France’s beaches belong to everyone, they belong more to some than to others, but only during the summer season. It’s enough to start a Revolution – if only it wasn’t so hot…

From France Today Magazine

Lead photo credit : © SHUTTERSTOCK