The city of Saint-Laurent-du-Var, near Nice, suffered heavy damage during the bad weather last Friday.
Impressive quantities of trees and objects were dumped on the beach, requiring the mobilization of a hundred volunteers.
REPORTAGE
Four days after the bad weather, the Alpes-Maritimes began to heal their wounds.
Like the mountains, where entire villages have been devastated, the coastline has suffered great damage.
In Saint-Laurent-du-Var, quantities of trees, earth and rubble were spilled into the sea, requiring the intervention of hundreds of volunteers to begin an imposing cleaning job.
Europe 1 went there.
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"It's sad"
A tangle of woods, trees and objects of all kinds rushed down the waterways to run aground on the coast, as if the entire forest had descended on the sand and the sea. Despite the good will of a hundred volunteers, it will take weeks to clear everything.
"The goal is to sort everything that is plastic waste, polystyrene etc ... We also make piles of wood that we will cut and then we will come with the machines. We found gas bottles that we have quickly removed for safety. We even found pieces of house. When I see that, it's sad ... ", says Marcel, a volunteer.
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The fear of finding bodies
Clothing was also recovered along with shoes, heightening fear and the risk of being found.
"We are very vigilant, with police officers who supervise the volunteers because if we find bodies, there is a protocol to respect," assures Joseph Segura, the mayor of Saint-Laurent-du-Var.
"I have a psychological cell that is ready, just in case. We have found dead animals, already. We are experiencing something appalling," laments the city councilor.
The bad weather killed four people in France and several others on the Italian side.
More than ten people are still missing.