Authorities in south-west France seek to improve beach safety following recent drownings

Authorities in south-west France are improving security measures following a spate of drownings in the Atlantic ocean over recent days.

High spring temperatures in 2026, including an ongoing heatwave that coincided with the Pentecost public holiday, has seen the number of spring drownings increase considerably compared to the average as huge groups of people head to the coast.

In the last week alone, four people have died on beaches in Gironde, and dozens have been rescued from the Atlantic ocean along the coastline.

Last Sunday (May 24), two swimmers died after being swept away by rip currents in Lacanau and Lège-Cap-Ferret (both Gironde) 

In the following days there were two more deaths in Lacanau, a seaside resort 50km west of Bordeaux, on Tuesday (May 26) when the body of a man in his thirties was recovered on the beach and on Wednesday (May 27) when a 24-year-old man drowned.

Although temperatures will drop in the area this weekend, crowds are expected to descend to beaches once more, leading authorities to urge caution to all who enter the sea.

In addition to the increased measures, the police union responsible for state-employed lifeguards is urging rule changes that would see units deployed earlier in the year.

It argues that changing climate conditions, including warmer temperatures earlier in the year, require new regulations to protect beachgoers, and that traditional calendars are outdated.

Rip-tides responsible for deaths

Deaths out at sea in the south-west are typically caused by rip-tides, a sudden and powerful change in currents that can catch even experienced swimmers off-guard. 

Despite their deadly nature, rip-tides are relatively common, and dozens of people can be swept up in them across a single day. As they appear at various points across a single beach, it is not possible to definitively restrict access to ‘rip-tide’ areas.

The high incident rate across beaches in the south-west however means that municipal lifeguards are struggling to keep up. 

In Lacanau three of the four municipal lifeguard stations were open across the Pentecost weekend to provide heightened coverage at the beginning of the heatwave as crowds descended on the coast.

The lifeguards saved dozens of people caught by rip-tides across the three days, but they could not prevent deaths from occurring. 

Increased resources

Local authorities say that they do not have the resources to deal with such crowds so early in the year. 

Popular beach spots in France are reinforced with state-employed lifeguards in the summer. 

Members of the CRS (riot police) lifeguard force are deployed, providing a dual role of public safety on the beach and additional lifeguard coverage in the water. 

As they possess police powers (including the ability to arrest disruptive members of the public) they can also be more authoritative in restricting access to certain areas of the beach during dangerous conditions.

However, they are only scheduled to work across the summer months, essentially France’s school holiday period. 

In Gironde for example, the 38 CRS lifeguards set to be deployed to the department are not scheduled to begin working until July 1 this year. 

Nationally, 264 lifeguards are set to be deployed at the same time.

A meeting between several local authorities covering Gironde’s beaches was held on Wednesday (May 27).

It aimed to provide “the identification of several courses of action to strengthen prevention, surveillance, and rescue measures starting in the coming weekends,” said Gironde’s prefecture in a press release. 

“While beach safety falls under the jurisdiction of the mayors, the state remains fully committed to supporting local authorities,” said the prefecture, which has committed to mobilising additional resources to reduce the risk of sea deaths.

Action to be taken includes: 

• Pre-positioning of a Gironde-department rescue helicopter at Lacanau before the weekend

• Additional security forces (police, etc) being positioned in coastal stations

• Reinforcing SDIS (Service départemental d'incendie et de secours, essentially France’s firefighter and first aid responders) stations in coastal areas with additional resources, particularly for nautical rescue missions

Local authorities are also being urged to increase messaging over the risk of rip-tides and drowning. 

It is worth noting that in France, ‘drowning’ does not necessarily mean a death but an accident in the water (either at sea, swimming pool, etc) which requires someone to be rescued/saved. 

In summer 2025 however, 409 drowning deaths were recorded, a 16% increase on the year before. 

Increased lifeguards? 

At a national level the CRS-UNSA union that represents state lifeguards is proposing that state lifeguards be deployed earlier in the year. 

“We are putting forward this line of thought… sending reinforcements as early as April, when sea conditions are good and temperatures are favorable for swimming, could help prevent the tragedies that occurred this past weekend,” said Cyril Lambert, national delegate of the CRS-UNSA union to media outlet 20 Minutes. 

Mr Lambert believes two CRS lifeguards (a supervisor and assistant) should be deployed per municipality. 

In addition to their increased powers, CRS lifeguards have year-round training and often work at the same beaches for several seasons, providing additional expertise in local conditions. 

National authorities are yet to confirm whether the calendar to deploy CRS lifeguards will be changed, but if it is, it could lead to increased protection.