On the Boulevard de la Croisette, at the beginning of the week, the swell came to heckle the strip of sand again - F. Binacchi / ANP / 20 Minutes

  • A vast operation to widen the beaches of the Croisette, for 11 million euros, had made it possible to double their depth.
  • The last sea blows have visually canceled this re-sandable.
  • But, according to the town hall, the sand was not washed away.

“We returned to the starting point. I even wonder if the beach is not even deeper than before ». On Zamenhof beach, the last one on Boulevard de la Croisette to the east, Nadine, a Cannes resident, is saddened by the effect of the latest sea swells.

According to her, the 110,000 m3 of sand brought by boat between winter 2017/2018 and early 2019 for 11 million euros "went to sea". There are also concerns at some private beach concessionaires, who paid for half of this enlargement operation. But, according to the city, which financed the other half, everything will not have to be redone.

The Croisette enlargement operation in early 2018 - F. Binacchi / ANP / 20 Minutes

"The sand has been pushed to the edge"

“The beach owners have the impression that a lot of sand has been washed away, that everything is gone. But, on the contrary, he was pushed to the edge. It rose to more than 1.80m ", explains Thomas Onzon, the director general of technical services (DGST) of the town hall of Cannes.

A “reprofiling” operation will be carried out to be able to level the sand and restore the depth of the beaches. “Everyone will be back at least 40m wide. We are in the process of discussing whether we will work on it before Mipim or between Mipim and the Cannes Film Festival, the manager added. The dealers will carry out their own work. "

"Every year, 1% of the sand goes back to sea"

“It is only after that that we will decide if a new supply of sand is necessary, but in any case without any measure with what has just been done. For the DGST, thanks to the installation, in the early 2010s, of geotextile strands that "break the swell", the impact of the sea waves is less strong and requires less new sand.

“It is estimated that, every year, 1% go back to sea. You should also be aware that a current phenomenon takes sand to the east to take it to the west. In any case, regular reshaping is necessary. This is the lot common to all these artificial beaches on the Croisette, imagined at the end of the 19th century.

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