Waves burst on the pebbles. In the background, a few houses rise to the top of chalk cliffs. Facing the English Channel, fields as far as the eye can see are crossed by the Saâne, a small coastal river. Thursday October 28, the small Norman village of Quiberville-sur-Seine (Seine-Maritime), located twenty kilometers west of Dieppe, 2,400 inhabitants in summer and barely 550 souls in winter, is full of life . A few foreign tourists, families and locals came to enjoy a beautiful autumn day. A great sun that would almost forget the sword of Damocles which hovers above this small town: the rising waters.
According to the latest forecasts from UN climate experts, if global warming continues on its current trajectory, sea level could rise one meter by 2100, profoundly transforming the coastline. And Quiberville is on the front line. "The village is already threatened with submersion, sea side, and floods, from the Saâne, land side. In the heights, we also have to face the problem of erosion", details to France 24 Stéphane Costa, professor at the University of Caen and researcher at the CNRS who has been studying the retreat of the coastline [the border between land and sea] for thirty years in Normandy.
"All of this will be amplified with global warming. Not only will the rise in sea level increase the risk of submersion, but it will also prevent the river from draining easily. At the same time, more waves will hit in the bottom of the cliffs and accelerate erosion, "he continues.
"Not to mention that the high tides and the storms will multiply while being more and more intense."
An original project
To cope, Quiberville is the subject of an unprecedented project in France.
Rather than erect barriers or walls to protect themselves against risks, the municipality, with the help of the European Union and the State, decided to "let the sea enter the land" and, condition sine qua non, to embark on a major recomposition of space, even if it means moving homes.
In short, the choice was made to adapt to the reality of global warming.
Until then, the town was protected by a vast dike road creating a border between the beach and the land.
The river itself has to pass through a "nozzle", a sort of funnel, before flowing into the sea. In the distance, the bottom of the cliffs have been concreted for several meters.
In Quiberville, a dike road creates a border between the sea and the land © Cyrielle Cabot, France 24
From 2025, this "nozzle" will be replaced by a wide bridge.
The river will be able to reach the sea more easily and the latter will be able to penetrate the land during high tides.
First advanced advantage: mitigate the risk of flooding.
"This opening will make it possible to increase the flow of evacuation of the river at low tide and therefore limit the risk of floods", explains to France 24, Régis Leymarie, deputy delegate to the Coastal Conservatory, which is piloting the project.
"In the other direction, the sea will be able to penetrate the land, but in a controlled way."
Second advantage: "Creating contact areas between fresh water and sea water allows an explosion of biodiversity", greets Régis Leymarie.
"We will re-establish spawning grounds for fish and nursery areas for birds."
To date, other projects of this kind are being considered in France, in particular through the Adapto program, also managed by the Conservatoire du littoral.
Since 2017, on ten French sites, it has been thinking about "flexible management of the coastline", by returning to the sea territories that had been deprived of it.
In the bay of Lancieux, in the Côtes-d'Armor in Brittany, for example, rather than repairing a dike, the project is to let the water enter agricultural polders to create salt meadows.
From "resisting" to "adapting"
However, for years, Jean-François Bloc, mayor of Quiberville for thirty-four years, had only one word in mind when he was told of rising water levels: "Concreting, concreting and concreting [to] better resist" , he explains to France 24. Depending on the weather, his approach has changed.
"It took me a little while, but I've come to understand that we're not going to be able to keep things in their place indefinitely.
This local child, son of a butcher from the town, has witnessed on several occasions the fragility of the arrangements in place. In 1977, a storm associated with a large tidal coefficient severely damaged the dike. Twenty-two years later, in 1999, it was the turn of the Saâne to overflow, swollen by heavy rains, causing significant flooding. "I had to help people get out of their houses through the windows, bring food in zodiacs to the inhabitants", recalls the city councilor. Remnants of these floods, small signs indicating the water level during these floods are still installed here and there on some buildings in the city.
"With each storm, we rebuild, in addition to solid," he continues.
"But with the rising waters, and with increasingly severe weather phenomena due to global warming, it is clear that this cannot be enough any longer."
While strolling on the dike, several signs come to confirm the observation of Jean-François Bloc.
In one place, a stone went completely off its axis.
"She was pushed by the waves during high tides", explains the city councilor.
A little further on, cracks crackle the road.
"I ended up realizing it. We must no longer resist, we must accept the reality of this rising water level and adapt to it," he insists.
In Quiberville, the dike shows weaknesses.
© Cyrielle Cabot, France 24
"With a rise in the water levels as predicted by scientists, a retreat into land will be inevitable," says Stéphane Costa.
"Protecting the coastline only saves time."
"In this, the Quiberville project is very interesting and innovative. It shows that by anticipating we can set up intelligent and attractive land recomposition projects," he says.
The dilemma of municipal camping
But above all, the first step in this adaptation will be to move the municipal campsite. Located just a few steps from the sea, just behind the dike road, it is particularly vulnerable to natural risks. "In 1999, we had just finished renovating it, it had been completely destroyed. The water had reached 1.60 m, the caravans were floating…", says Jean-François Bloc. In 2024, the campsite will therefore be completely dismantled. A new one will be built 700 meters further up in the heights of Quiberville.
If he is convinced that this is the right thing to do, the mayor does not hide his concern. "Camping is our livelihood, it is our primary source of income and our main economic activity. By itself, it represents eight jobs. This is not nothing for a village like ours," he explains. he. "We have a large number of regulars. Some people have been coming to the campsite for over fifty years. Obviously, for them, it's a difficult decision to accept."
On the site of the future reception area, Jean-François Bloc nevertheless displays a big smile.
"But it is also an opportunity to renew ourselves. The new campsite will be more modern, more oriented towards the reception of motorhomes. There will be mobile homes, a swimming pool ...", he reassures himself.
Régis Leymerie, deputy delegate at the Conservatoire du littoral (on the right) and Jean-François Bloc, mayor of the city, on the site of the future Quiberville campsite.
© Cyrielle Cabot, France 24
On the cliff, the inevitable erosion
On the heights of Quiberville, the houses, too, are threatened.
In question, the erosion which nibbles the cliffs.
When we mention this problem to him, Jean-François Bloc is much more defeatist.
"We can do whatever we want, we can't do much better than slow down the process," he laments.
"Here, erosion eats away around 40 cm of cliff per year", explains Stéphane Costa.
"At the bottom, the waves hit the cliff and weaken it. At the top, it is the pressure of urbanization and the infiltration of rainwater that pose a problem."
Since he has been at the head of Quiberville, the town councilor has already had to ask three families to leave their homes for safety reasons.
Latest: July 2020. "Today, when someone comes to see me for a purchase project on the cliff, I am not lying. I warn buyers that they will only be able to see a beautiful sunset. for twenty or thirty years. "
An order of imminent danger was filed for this house, located a few steps from the edge of the cliff, in July 2020. © Cyrielle Cabot, France 24
In total, around forty houses in the department risk collapsing under the pressure of erosion, in 2020 the Center for Studies and Expertise on Risks, the Environment, Mobility and Planning (Cerema ) and the Departmental Directorate of Territories and the Sea (DDTM) of Seine-Maritime.
So what will Quiberville look like in twenty, thirty or fifty years?
The cliffs will have continued to retreat.
But below, we will have "a beautiful natural space, where many tourists will come to stroll to observe migratory birds and enjoy the sea", hope together Régis Leymarie and Jean-François Bloc.
Thursday, by the sea, walkers are rather curious when we tell them about the project.
Some do not hide their sadness at the idea of seeing the town change, but all are well aware of the threat of rising waters.
"We will miss this landscape", admits a Parisian tourist, already nostalgic.
"But it is necessary", slices her husband.
"The sea is taking back its rights and we will not be able to prevent it."
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