Best beaches in France 2022: ‘Blue Flag’ sustainable list revealed

The 2022 list of the Pavillon Bleu best beaches for bathing in France has been revealed, with 419 beaches on the list across 197 communes.

The Pavillon Bleu (“Blue Flag”) is an international tourism label, reevaluated each year, operated by sustainable development association Teragir.

It is given to sea, ocean, lake or river beaches, as well as yacht harbours and marinas, which “implement, on a permanent basis, a policy for the development of tourism that respects the environment and human beings”.

Managers of beaches and marinas that receive the accolade often make significant efforts to keep their spaces clean, including regular cleaning, and the installation of signs that encourage visitors to pick up rubbish, and not to deposit cigarette butts.

The label also highlights clean water and sand, and good waste management.

This year the list features 419 beaches (27 more than the 2021 list) and 117 marinas.

By region, the number of sites on the list is as follows:

• Occitanie: 110 beaches, 22 marinas

• Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur: 94, 29

• Nouvelle-Aquitaine: 58, 2

• Pays de la Loire: 48, 3

• Brittany: 32, 11

• Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes: 25, 5

• Normandy: 18, 10

• Hauts-de-France: 5, 4

• Corsica: 4, 6

• Bourgogne-Franche-Comté: 3, 5

• Centre Val de Loire: 3,1

• Grand Est: 1, 14

• Ile-de-France: 1, 2

Beaches and marinas that receive the accolade can fly a bright blue flag to denote their status

Beaches have to pay and must enter themselves into consideration for the accolade, so the absence of the label does not necessarily mean that a beach is in bad condition.

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